THE UNIVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS
LIBRARY
^875
v3j
^
THOUGHTS ^
ON THE
MONEY AND EXCHANGES
OF
LOWER CANADA
BY HENRY S. CHAPMAN,
(aCTIIOR of a statistical sketch of tub corn trade of lover CANADA.)
MONTREAL:
PRINTED AT THE MONTREAL GAZETTE OFFICE,
2.'>f NOTRE DAME STREVT.
1832.
TO
SAMUEL REVANS
AMD
JOHN W. DUNSCOMB, Esquires,
THE FOLLOWING PAGES,
THE RECORD OF OUR CONVERSATIONS ON
THE SUBJECT TREATED OF,
ARE DEDICATED,
BV THEIR SINCERE FRIEND
THE AUTHOR.
Qlf.bec, Scpfembcr, 1832.
35a'J6i
ERRATA.
Owing to the circumstance of the Author residing at a distance from the Pub.
lislier, the following errors have crept in : —
Page 19, line 6, for " lead" read '< leads."
26, " 12, after the ward " conversion," the comma should be a semicolon,
and after " conveyance" the semicolon should be a comma.
23, " 19, for (G) rcarf (C).
30, ** 7 from bottom, for ''come" read "came."
31, " 24, for '' 106,061" read " 156,061."
34, ♦' 3 from bottom, for 1 3-6 read 1 3-8.
37, « 7 ditto, for '* these .sums" reai '* their sum,"
42, " 13 ditto, for "substract" rcarf" subtract."
43, " 25, for " and the evidence" read " to the evidence."
44, in the note for " chapter 6" rend 4.
45, line 27, for " depreciate" read " depreciation."
46, «' 7, for '* emmigration" read "immigration."
8 from bottom, after the word " awkward" insert " for."
48, « 10 ditto, {or "its" read "their."
51, << 12 ditto, for <« depreciate," rearf "depreciation."
53, in the list of the Appendix, line 18 to be struck out ; E, No. 4, not hav.
ing been inserted. No. 5 is consequently marked 4, and the
Sumraar,y 5
T H O U G II T S
MONEY AND EXCHANGES
LOWER CANADA.
INTRODUCTION.
It will be recollected, that in the early part of the year
1830, — ill consequence of a passage in the speech of Sir
James Kempt, having reference to the state of the Cur-
rency,— both houses of the Provincial Legislature appointed
Committees to hear evidence on, and inquire into the mone-
tary system of Lower Canada.
These Committees reported tlie results of their labours,
but, unfortunately, little has been practically edected
thereby. On examining the reports, this will not be deemed
surprising. The facts collected are few in number, and no
important conclusions are drawn from them. We learn,
that certain coins pass current in Lower Canada at rates
above their value; the evil is duly expatiated upon; but
accompanied only by a feeble recommendation " that they
" should be called in at the public expense, under safe-
" guards against their not having been introduced into the
" Province in order to profit by such deterioration."* A\ hat
safeguards arc sufficient is not pointed out, though it was
a question evidently within the province of both Commit-
tees ; in fact, generally, the Committees content themselves
with declaring, that it is advisable to do what they them-
selves were expressly appointed to do, and so putting oflT,
sine die^ the business of inquiry. ^Ve are further told that
the weight and purity of the Spanish dollar, having been
reduced, our par of exchange is no longer correct ; but,
• Council't. Report, p.igc 12, Svo. cd.
although much evidence was collected, no attempt was
made to set the public right on the point. It is true
the evidence was contradictory ; one witness stating the
dollar to be worth 4s. Id. to 4s. 2d., another 4s. 3d., a
third 4s. 4d., and a fourth that it would require £115i-3
currency to make £100 sterling — thus making the dollar
worth 4s. 3|d .58. No attempt was made to establish,
by a reference to general principles, which, — if any, — of
the above rates is correct, though there is no principle
of the science, within whose province such questions come,
better, — more fairly and fully establislied than that which
would have led, — and by no very intricate road either, — to
the truth.
Hence it will appear that the "Lower Canadian Cur-
rency question" stands nearly as it did before the Com-
mittees sat. Its deranged state is still complained of, but the
extent and direction of that derangement is, as yet, wholly
undetermined and but vaguely conceived. These points it
will be the object of this paper to clear up ; the evidence
collected by the Committees, especially the documentary
pari, some of which appears valuable, will be submitted to
a careful examination ; and after adding such further evi-
dence as I can command, and which may tend to elucidate
the inquiry, I shall endeavour to point out a remedy for
the acknowledged evils, of easy practical application.
CHAPTER I.
On the state of the Coins in circulation.
As the actual state of the coins in circulation in the Pro-
vince forms no inconsiderable portion of the inquiries of
both Committees, let us, without preface, direct our atten-
tion thereto.
I need scarcely remind the reader, that the integer of ac-
count in Canada is the £ currency consisting of four Span-
ish dollars, its subdivisions being as those of British money,
into shillings and pence; the dollar, consequently, being
called five shillings.
The coins chietly met with in circulation are as follows : —
Spanish dollars, and a few American, 5s., — American half
dollars, and a few Spanish, 2s. 6d., — Spanish and American
quarter dollars. Is. 3d., — Spanish one eighth ditto, 7|d., — •
Spanish one-sixteenth ditto, S^d., — American 10 cents,
one tenth ditto, 6cl., — French crown pieces, 5s. Gd., —
French half-crown ditto, 2s. 9d., — Pistareens, (formerly Is.
now) lOd., — Half Pistarcen, 5d., — together with some few
others, occasionally, though very rarely seen, such as five
franc pieces, 4s. 8d., — old Spanish quarter dollars without
pillars, Is, — English bank tokens of 1812, Ss., Is. Gd., —
and Irish lOd. and 5d., now, I believe, geneially refused.
Three questions appear to me to include all that is
meant by " the state of the coins in circulation.'*^
First, Which of the coins in circulation are debased ?
Second, What is the extent of their depreciation ?
Third, Wliat proportion does the depreciated bear to
the sound part of our currency ?
The two first questions, it will be seen, form but one
subject for inquiry.
In estimating the value of the several coins in circula-
tion, the dollar of 60 pence is assumed as the standard into
which all the rest are resolved. Here the Conmiiitee of
the Legislative Council has the merit of having adopted the
right course, — actual experiment.
" The weights of the coins were ascertained by actually
weighing the quantities thereof so specified, respectively
taken at hazard.
The following are the results of the experiment above
alluded to : —
1000 Spaiiisli dollars were > oz. <f«'<. gfs. grs. value.
found to weigh . ... 5^ 8G5 1 8 avei'age 415, ea. 5s.
200O U. States half dollars, 865 18 2 " 207 16-20, ea. 2s. 6d.
4000 Spanish quarter do. 829 19 6 <' 99 1-2, ea. Is. 2 1-Sd.
5000 Pistareens 804 12" 779-50, ea. Os. 11 8-50d.
3000 French crowns 92S 0 4 << 445 4-10, ea. 5s. 4 l-2d.
2000 French half do 863 4 6 *« 207 1-6 ea. 2s. 5 1.4d.
Strictly the values of the several coins will be as follows :
that is, taking the data of the Committee, and supposing the
standard of the silver contained in the coins to be the same
as the Spanish standard. It will be seen that some trilling
errors have crept into their calculation: —
D
United States half dollar S0.04
Spanish quarter dollar 1-1. 3S
Spanish pistareen 11.1.57
Fiench crown 64.53
French half crown 29.92
French old standard, however, is rather better than
Spanish ; containing 1 Uwt. less of allov.
8
Tlje French crown, when unworn, weighed 450 grs., ami
contained 403-1 grs. of pure silver. The coin in ciicuhition
in Canada, has lost 4-G grs. of its weight, allowing for which
it will he ibund to contain 398.9 grs. of pure silver, giving
5.42-1 for its true value. In like manner, the half crown
Jiaving lost 17-83 grs. will he found to contain only 185.5
grs. of pure silver, making its value 30-008. Hence the
French crown is depreciated 2 1- 1 per centum.
Spanisli quarter dollar " 4-1-7 '« "
Spanish pihtureeii " 7 1-S «' "
French half crown " 9 1-10" '<
The state of the copper coins current in Lower Canada
also demands notice. At the time the Committees sat,
complaints of the trash passing as copper coin, were very
general. It was also said they were in excess. If any
thing, their condition is now worse — they consist chiefly of
old and broken copper coin of all nations : tokens, and,
probably, bits of copper, which never were meant for coin.
But they are in decided scarcity, so much so, that the
Quebec Bank paid 2^ per cent, very recently, for some.
Indeed, it is difficult now to get a shilling's worth of
coppers. Of the recent importation of pence, halfpence,
and farthings, the latter will, most likely, find their way into
Lower Canada, where they pass for a halfpenny. A good
copper coinage to replace the above will be considered in
Chapter IV.
The proportion which the depreciated portion bears to
the sound portion of our currency may be ascertained with
accuracy from documents furnished by the report of the
Committee of the Assembly.
In the Appendix A, will be found a statement drawn from
the above report, showing the amount of each description
of coin in the Public Chest, on the 1st January, 1830, and
also the average amount of each in possession of the Banks
of Montreal and Quebec.
As the receiver of the Customs is strictly enjoined to
refuse all but Spanish and American dollars and half dollars
for the Crown duties, and as these form a very considerable
portion of the monies paid by the Collector into the hands
of the Receiver General, it must be obvious that the state
of the Public Chest cannot be admitted as evidence of the
proportion which erxh coin bears to the whole volume of
the currency. The two Banks, however, receive and pay
all coins in circulation indifferently, Tiiaking, doubtless, what'
efFoits they are able to keep Spanisli and American money
in their hands as long as possible, because they are perpe-
tually being- called upon by their best customers, the West
India merchants, for supplies thereof lor Crown duties;
these very demands are continually preventing their pos-
sessing any great excess of such coins, and so neutralizing —
if we may be allowed the expression — all their ellbrts ; so
that, on the average, the coins held by the Banks will exhi-
bit a tolerably just view of the proportion which each coin
bears to the whole currency. Calling the whole currency
1000, no less than 671 parts are of the sound portion thereof,
the rest being composed of coins more or less depreciated.
If we include the contents of the Public Chest the pro-
portion of the sound portion will be still greater, namely,
680 parts in 1000. The additional proportion of dollars
and halves has been already accounted for by the circum-
stance that the Government receives those coins only for
the duties which hitherto it has claimed to appropriate.
Having now' traced out the state of the currency of
Lower Canada; having shown what coins pass above their
value, and how much ; it remains to inquire what cflbcts
must result from such a state of things.
The effects of eniploying a currency consisting of various
coins, some passing above and some at or below their
value, would be precisely analogous to the evils arising
from the employment of two metals, both as standard mo^
ney, where the relative value of the said metals had depart-
ed from the fixed proportion. These evils are so forcibly
and accurately described by a popular writer, that I shall
adopt his words.
" Some nations have made use of two metals, gold and
" silver, both as standard money, or legal tender to any
" amount.
" For this purpose it was necessary to fix a certain rela-
" five value between them. A certain weight of the one
" was taken to be equal in value to a certain weight of the
" other.
" If the proportion thus fixed for the coins were accu-
" rately the i)roportion which it obtained in the market,
" and continued so invariably, there would be no inconve-
" nience in the two standards."
So far the case does not apply to coins passing above
Iheir value estimated in the basis of the currency. It is
only where the relative value of the two metals is destroy-
10
ed that the supposed case apphes to the currency of Cana-
da. To resume,
" The relative value, however, of the two metals in the
*' market is fluctuating. Suppose that the value fixed for
" the coins is that of 15 to l,in other words, that 1 piece of
*' gold is equal to 15 pieces of silver of the same weight. A
*' change takes place in the market, and this value becomes
*' 16 to 1. What follows? A man who has a debt to pay
*' equal, let us say, to 100 of the gold pieces, or 1500 of the
" silver, finds it his interest to pay his debt not with gold.
" With his 100 gold pieces he can go into the market and
*' purchase as much silver as may be coined into 1600
" pieces ; with 1500 of which he may pay his debt, and re-
*' tain 100 to himself. In this manner silver would be mul-
*' tiplied ; and the quantity of the currency would be in-
*' creased ; its value would, therefore, be diminished ; the
" gold in coin would thus become of less value than in bul-
" lion ; hence, the gold coins would be melted, and would
" disappear."*
What follows only supposes the case of fluctuation the
other way. It is quite unnecessary to quote farther, the
reader will readily apply the reasoning contained in the
above passage to the case of the depreciated coins now
current in Canada.
If a sufficient number of crowns, half-crowns, quarter of
dollars, pistareens, &c. could have been procured from
places where they passed at or under their value, they
would long since have displaced all our more valuable
coins. In this case, the rate of exchange would have risen
against us to the amount of the depreciation : thus, if 8 per
centf be now the rate which is necessary to make up the
difference between the nominal par and the real par value
of our currency, and if, say, French half crowns wholly^
filled up the channels of our circulation, then 9 per cent
■would be to be added to the rate of exchange, whatever
it might be — say 8 per cent — and 17 per cent premium (or
8 + 9 per cent fluctuation being from 15 a 19, as now from
6 a 10) would be the ordinary average par value of our
currency.
The fact that we have still so large a portion of good
and faithful coins in circulation is proof either that America
* Mill's Elements of Political Economy, third edition^ page 14] -S.
f Vide supra, chap ii, sect. 1 . par. 8.
11
does not contain a sufliciency of those coins to fill our
channels of circulation, or that they are current elsewhere
at higher, or, at all events, the same rates. The former is
the case with all the depreciated coins ; on some of them
the latter also operates as a cause of exclusion.
In the United States of America the French crowns and
half-crowns pass for a dollar and half a dollar only ; the
consequence is that those coins are rarely seen. The same
is the case in Upper Canada,* and, we believe, in New-
foundland. At what rate they pass in other parts of British
America we have no information; hence, we are driven to
the conclusion, that we have in circulation and hoarded
nearly all the French crowns and half crowns in America.}
With regard to the pistareens, they now come under the
second supposition, — they pass elsewhere higher than in
Canada ; before their reduction they came under the first.
The coin, it has been seen, is intrinsically worth llroVod.
or say ll^d. ; while it was current here at 12d., it was li-
mited in Nova Scotia to lid., hence, all that could be pro-
cured passed into this province. So many were current in
the cities of Quebec and Montreal, that they were felt to be
an inconvenience. An outcry was, accordingly, raised
• Demand for Lower Canada has raised French crowns in Upper Canada to
a prenuuni.
f A gentleman, to whom the MS. of this article was shown, and whose opinions
are entitled to attentive consideration, has suggested, that '• a more particular
** assignment of the reasons which prevent the inferior coins from driving out of
" the market those whose intrinsic value equals or surpasses their nominal va-
" lue" would be desirable. 1 have, accordingly, looked over what I had written,
tiut can find nothing to add to what is stated above, in the shape of an addition,
al reason to account for the fact, that the base coins have not usurped the
place of the sound coins. The general law that inferior coins will, if allowed to
pass concurrently with the superior, entirely usurp their places, appears to me
true. Then comes the objection, that in the case of the inferior coins of Cana-
da that effect has not taken place, — followed by the question — and wliy ? The
only solution that can be offered appears to me to be that given in the teit ;
namely, 1st, That there are not enough to be found in America to fill the chan-
nel of the circulation ; 2d, That some of them pass elsewiiere at equal rates.
The trade of the country requires a certain volume of circulating medium ; that
volume canrot be supplied by the debased coins, — they being able to afford
about one-third only, — the rest, therefore, is made up of the only coins to be
had, namely, dollars and half-dollars. Another consideration is, that there was
an actual demand for a certain number of pistareens, as a subsidiary coin ; that
number, whatever it was, would be able to pass at a rate considerably above its
value, without the slightest inconvenience. The Hritish silver h debused 10 per
cent witliout being depreciated. To my mind these make up a satisfactory ex-
planation of the fact, I tcuiil they will do to to that of the reader and of the
iutclligeut objector.
12
against them, — they were stigmatised as " the rotten part
" of our currency," and the 10th and 11 th of Geo. IV. cap. 5,
effectually drove them out of the market, by declaring them
to be current at lOd. only. In New Brunswick they bear
the same value, and even there they are a legal tender to
the extent of 5s. only. In the United States they pass for
17 cents, equal to lOj^od., Halifax Currency, whilst in Nova
Scotia they are valued at lid., hence, by that Colony they
are nearly all absorbed, — absorbed, not because they over
value them, as we formerly did, but because ail surround-
ing States undervalue them.
Like all bodies of men, ignorant of the matter before
them, and acting without any fixed principle, our law-
makers have deprived the country of what might have been
a most useful coin for no earthly reason, but that there was
a prejudice against it. In attempting to rectify an acknow-
ledged error, the Council and Assembly overstepped the
line of truth, and created an error exactly equal to that
which existed before. It is, doubtless, a bad thing to have
a coin passing as the pistareen did, unless as a subsidiary
coin, limited in quantity; but as depreciation was not a
property of the coin itself, it could not amount to a reason
lor abolishing it.
In the mode of effecting this there is much to condemn.
In the earlier times of European history, before civiliza-
tion, and its concomitants, education and a press tolerably
free, had put a stop to glaring acts of rapine and public
robbery, the nominal value of a currency was frequently
raised, and sometimes, though seldom, lowered to suit the
sinister purposes of despotic governments. Latterly, how-
ever, such acts of aggression have been extremely rare in
Europe, — in Great Britain wholly unknown. There are,
it is true, still to be met w ith, men sufficiently barefaced lo -
speak in favour of a depreciated currency ; but, fortunately,
the honest part of the community is too many for them.
Since 1819 every act of the Legislature relating to the cur-
rency has tended to promote its integrity ; and it is only by
a very complicated plan of operations that such frauds can
be effected.
In England, when the coinage, or any portion thereof,
becomes depreciated by wear to an extent to affect the ex-
changes and the price of bullion ; and it is decided to call it
in and issue another, it is invariably done at the expense of
the community. The measure is a public benefit, — the re-
13
nioval of a public nuisance ; by Ibc public at large,* llicrc-
fore, and not by any small portion tliercof should the loss
be borne. The monstrous fraud of iullicting the loss on
holders could never have been carried into clfect in a
country where the bulk of the population was in a situa-
tion to profit by an independent press, and where that
press did its duty. Where the great mass of the people,
however, is destitute of the elements of knowledge, there
is but little demand for an ellicient press, — a people's only
safeguard ; they are constantly open to the most bare-
faced robbery of the most bungling plunderers. In Eng-
land, I do not hesitate to say, the press, in a body, would
have condemned the measure, denouncing its promoters
and supporters as open promoters of fraud.
Most of my readers will recollect the effects, even of tho
agitation of the measure, on trade. As it became certain
that it would be carried, in a way to exclude tlie possi-
bility of compensation for loss, every disposition was
evinced and every eifort made to get rid of the obnoxious
coins. Debtors paid their creditors with pistareens at Is.,
knowing they would be worth only lOd. at the rising of the
morrow's sun. In this they were undoubtedly justified,
they had taken the coin at Is., the lawful rate, and while it
continued a legal tender, were committing no moral wrong
in discharging their debts therewith. One anecdote, in
illustration, deserves jircserving. A grocer of Quebec,
illustrious for the extent and success ef liis dealings, owed
a merchant a sum of money ; all the pistareens in his pos-
session he sent the said merchant in part payment of his
debt. The merchant, however, — who was from the same
side of the Tweed as his debtor, — hit upon an expedient to
return his countryman the compliment. Sagaciously gues-
sing his former debtor — having the fear of his old acquain-
tances, the doomed coins, before his eyes — would refuse
him credit pending the discussion of the measure, ho sent
his storekeeper or cooper, who purchased candles, soap, or
some such article to about the amount, paying for the same
in the dreaded pistareens. While the bill was waiting the
Governor's assent, some few shopkeepers shut up their
shops to avoid the evil above described.!
* This is the opinion of W. Finlay, E^q sec his evidence. Council RcporL
t On the question on whom should the loss rail ? I nm also at issue with
the objector ulicadv quoted at pugc 11 (note), he writes, — "in Iht catc of a
14
In directing the measure of their wrath against the pista-
reens, the Legislature left unnoticed the gieatest offenders,
namely, the French hai-f crowns. In amount they ex-
liibit an excess over pistareens of 21 per cent., and in point
of depreciation they are 2 per cent, worse. It is, there-
fore, strange that in their zeal to amend, neither house
of the Provincial Legislature (except in the vague and
rcsultless recommendation of the Committee of the Coun-
cil,) thought of including French half crov^'ns in their bill,
which it was intended should work wonders in the way
of improvement.
Before I dismiss this portion of the subject, I take leave
<' metropolitan state calling in her worn coin for the purpose of making a new
*' issue, it is her oion coin siie calls in, upon which she has had the seignorage,
'* &c. In this case it is foreign coin, and no wisdom can prevent the colony
" from becoming the mart for all this debased foreign coin, and being paid for
•' at a price above its real value by the colony."
It is, indeed, most unwise in a state to pay for a coin, or other commodity,
more than it it is worth ; but in tlie case under consideration, tlie folly lias been
Committed — the colony has been the mart ; the debased coins iiave been bought
and piid for ; and by calling them in, no new inducement is offered to bring
them fioni a distant state te be changed, more than now exists in their free
exchangeability for dollars.
The question whether or not the local governments shall defray the expense
of calling in and re-issuing the coin, resolves itself to this. Shall the loss be
borne b^y the public in equal or unequal shares? If holders be saddled with
the loss, some are great sufferers while others wholly escape. If, on the
other hand, tlie government call them in, every tax-paying individual will
contribute his fair share of the loss. To those who hold that the pistareen would
purchase as great a quantity of commodities after, as before the passing of the
law, (and holders pro tanto be compensated,) I refer to page 15 of the text. I
would further remark, that on the basis (and the bulk) of her currency. Great
Britain levies no seignorage, consequently, the cost of calling in a worn coin is
an unrequited loss, — borne, however, fairly and equally, (in so far as taxes are
fairly and equally levied,) by every tax-payer. To me it appears, that the cir-
cumstance of a colony making use of a foreign coin, instead of being an argument
against her bearing the loss, is, in fact, the strongest argument in favor of such
a course. The colony is saved the cost of a mint establishment — she is, there-
fore, better able to bear the loss on worn coin ; in fact, wear of coin is as una-
voidable an expense to a people as the administration of justice.
Another observation too, from the same source, appears equally open to dis-
pute, namely, that it is a question between debtor and creditor. To make it so,
it appears to me the debtor should lose what the creditor gains, and the con-
verse. It is not so, however, with the case under discussion. A. borrows of B.
dS, say 100 shillings, which is received in pistareens. To make the case
strong let us sappose, before A, can make use of the said pistareens comes the
law, changing their current rate. A. tenders the pistareens back to B. who
refuses to take fewer than 120 in discharge of his debt, this is a clear loss to A.
but it is no gain to B. unless, indeed, what the autlior of a Review, &c. says, is
true, which it is not, hence it api»cars that A, loses not as a debtor but as a
holder.
15
to say a few words on that part of a work entitled, a
" Review of tlie proceedings of the Legislature of Lower
" Canada in the session of 1831," which relates to the cur-
rency.
The author states two principles whereby to try the
effects of allowing pistareens to pass current at a nominal
value above their real value.
" We admit that money can under no circumstances (!-?)
" be made to circulate beyond its intrinsic value. When
" the nominal value is increased beyond the intrinsic value,
" a corresponding increase takes place in the prices of all
" commodities, and among these of bills of exchange. *
"****** If there be two or more coins form-
*' ing a part of the legal currency of a country, and the no-
" minal value of the one be higher than the nominal value
" of the other, the latter will be displaced by the former
" and entirely disappear, or be obtainable only by the pay-
" ment of a premium." — Review, &c. p. 125.
The first principle is not true, until the effects recited in
the second have taken place. Why they did not take place
has been already shown, page 11. Had they taken place —
had pistareens displaced, or permanently raised to a pre-
mium the sound portion of our currency, there is no doubt
that the prices of all commodities — including exchange, as
shewn page 10, would have risen in the precise ratio of the
depreciation. The case of the pistareens, in fact, does not
come under the author's general rule. They never dis-
placed dollars and half dollars, or raised them to a pre-
mium;* hence they never affected prices; all that is predi-
cated of the currency in the work in question is, conse-
quently, false, and in many cases absurd, manifestly so
indeed, as may be seen by the following extract.
" If eggs had been selling at 12d. previous to the passing
" of the law, they would, ceteris paribus, have sold for lOd.
" after its passing ; but they would, in both instances, have
" been paid (for) by the same identical quantity of silver,
" or other precious metal, and it might have been of the
" same identical form." — Review, eodem loco.
Now, making due allowance for the " ceteris paribus''^ of
the case, which we presume means any Jluctuation of price
* For tbe causes which have occasionally concurred to raise dollars to a pre-
mium, see chap. 2. sec 2, par. C.
16
from a change in the ratio of supply and demand, we put
it to the experience of every man, wiiether as many eggs
could be bought for a pistareen the day after as the day be-
fore the passing of the law.
The sage Augustus, in Mr. Bulwer's " Paul Clifford,"
says, — " the advantage of having a principle is, that if you
fail into error, it is your principle that is to blame and not
yourself." — Such is the case with the author of the " Re-
view." The same number of eggs would certainly have sold
for a pistareen after, as before the passing of the law, pro-
vided the effects predicated in the second principle had
taken place; that is, — if pistareens had filled the channels
of circulation. But this they never did. The rule has
been made too general, a common error with hasty writers.
In the observations (page 130,) on the absurdity of at-
tacking the pistareens and leaving the French half-crowns
untouched, I fully concur; but as I have gone through this
part of the question, (page 14,) I abstain from further com-
ment. Let us now look back and ascertain the steps we
have advanced in this inquiry. We have established which
of the several coins current in Canada are depreciated ;
their per centage depreciation has been pointed out ; and
a measure of the proportion which the said depreciated
coins bear to the whole in circulation has been exhibited.
From these three settled points — as I think we are authorised
in calling them — we may conclude : that the quantum of dis-
turbance under which our currency has been supposed to
labour, has been considerably over-rated. A currency can-
not be said to be in a very bad state, when the sound portion
consists of 670 to 680 parts out of 1000, especially when it
is considered that out of the remaining 320 to 330 parts a
considerable portion consists of small coins, useful, nay, in-
dispensible for the common purposes of interchange, and,
as such, may without any inconvenience be permitted to
pass at rates considerably above their metallic value.
That derangement exists, no one can doubt — it rests on
demonstration; and although not to an extent to warrant
the lamentations occasionally bestowed upon it, still quite
sufficient to demand a remedy. Of that remedy, however,
we must postpone the consideration, until we have pur-
sued our inquiries to a branch of the subject absolutely
necessary to the perfect understanding of the whole, — we
mean the exchange.
17
CHAPTER II.
THE EXCHANGE.
Section I. — The Nominal Exchange.
Having, in the foregoing chapter, gone through the exa-
mination of the state of the coins in circulation, I now pro-
ceed to another but no less important question, which
occupied much of the attention of the Committees, namely,
THE EXCHANGE.
There are two circumstances on which the rate of ex-
change between different countries depends. First^ the
relative value of their respective currencies, weight and
fineness both considered ; and, second^ the supply of, com-
pared with the demand for, bills of exchange. By some
writers, the first has been called the nominal exchange —
the second, the real exchange — and both together the com-
puted exchange. In this section, I shall treat of the nomi-
nal exchange only. The nominal exchange may be affected
by the use of paper money ; the consideration of its mode
of operating, I shall put off till the next section ; confining
our investigations in this, to the nominal exchange between
two countries using metallic currencies.
Firsts The value of a currency is determined by the
quantity of pure metal contained in the coins forming its
basis, alloy being left wholly out of the account ; and the
number of times one coin is contained in another, is called
the PAR OF EXCHANGE. Thus, if one dollar contain as much
pure silver as five franks, then the par between the United
States and France will be 5f.=l$. or what amounts to the
same thing, 20 c.=l f.
This, however, only holds good between two countries
making use of the same metal as the standard of their res-
pective currencies. But, of some countries, gold is the
standard, of others, silver ; between such countries the par
is not invariable.
Let us take for illustration, the par between England and
France, or America ; gold being the standard in the former
country — silver in the two latter.
Having ascertained the quantity of pure silver contained
in the com forming the basis of the currency of the country
c
18
of which silver is the standard, we must find what it is
worth at the market price of silver in the gold-using coun-
try, and not at any mint price, fixed by law for the purpose
of calculation. A short explanation will serve to render
this obvious.
The mint price of silver is a conventional price, insti-
tuted for the purpose of fixing, or rather attempting to fix,
the proportion between silver and gold. The silver coin
of Great Britain, being a subsidiary coin, passes at a rale
considerably above its real value, without the slightest
inconvenience, inasmuch as silver is not a legal tender
above a certain amount, namely, forty shillings.* Fo-
reign coins, how^ever, do not enjoy this advantage; they
are merely a commodity, worth whatever they will realize
in the market, at the market price.
The market price of silver, like that of all other com-
modities, is perpetually fluctuating, according to the exist-
ing ratio of supply and demand. A sudden change of
wind, for example, may thrust upon the market a large
supply of silver from Mexico ; a decline is as surely the
consequence, as a decline in the price of sugar would be
upon a sudden glut of that article. It will, at once, be
seen, that between two countries using different metals as
the basis of their currencies, there can exist no invariable
PAR of exchange. Besidcs the cause of variation above
mentioned, the par will be affected by any change in the
weight or purity of the coins in either of the interchanging
countries.
Many of the pars of exchange now in use, were fixed
when the respective coins contained a different quantity of
metal than at present ; hence, most of them are erroneous,
in other words, they are far no longer; and such, as I
shall presently show, is the case with the par of exchange
made use of in this country.
When the language of exchange is so much of the cur-
rency of one country for the unit of the other^ as 4s. l|d.
= $1, $4 80 ==£1, 12 guilders = £1, 25 francs = £1,
and so forth, no inconvenience can arise from a par being
assumed ; but when, as in Canada, the erroneously assumed
* Practically, however, payments are made in silver to any aniouilt, as the
IBank of England never refuses to take silver. " Change," as it is called, is, in,
fact, scarce, being kept so by moderate issues. Were the issues of silver to be-
come excessive, so as to reduce its value, those who had money to receive would
lefuse to take more than the lawful limit.
19
par of exchange is never lost sight of, but enters into the
language of commerce daily and hourly, it does lead to con-
tradiction and misunderstanding. It asserts that exchange
is at a premium, when it may be cither at par or at a dis-
count. The practical knowledge of merchants, it is true,
lead them to call 5 or 6 per cent, premium low^ tlius tacitly
abandoning the par lixed by law ; for, were the par cor-
rect, no one could deny that 5 per cent, would bo enor-
mous as a premium, indeed utterly incapable of being main-
tained.
The par of exchange at present in use, namely, 4s. Gd.
sterling = 5s. currency, was fixed when the Spanish dol-
lar, or piece of eight, as it was then called, was both heavi-
er and finer than at present. The old dollar weighed 17
dwts. 12 grains, and the standard of Spain was only 1 dwt.
worse than that of Great Britain, the dollar being tiien ac-
tually worth 4s. 6d. at the mint price of standard silver.*
Since that period, however, the Spanish standard has
been lowered, — 7 dwts. more alloy having been added to
the lb., besides which the weight of the dollar has been re-
duced 4 grains, namely to 17 dwt. 8 grains, the pure silver
in the coin being 370.9 grains. f Now for whatever sum
three hundred and seventy grains and nine-tenths will sell
in the London market, — the money market of England,
indeed of Europe, — that sum is the par value of the dollar.
By referring to appendix B, No. 1, the reader will find a
table containing the price of silver in the London market,
monthly, from 1823 to 1828, both inclusive, and also for
1831; unfortunately I do not possess prices for 1829 and
1 830, nor do I know any source in this country whence to
derive them. Could they, however, be exhibited, they
would not much affect the average of the whole period.
No. 2 of the same appendix contains the annual av(!rage
prices of the Spanish dollar calculated from No. 1, together
with the average of the whole period, namely, 4s. IICl .3,
which would require, in our present mode of computation,'
a premium of 8^ per cent, over and above our assumed
par, to bring it into currency, £100 sterhng being worth
♦ See Ordinance 17 Geo. III. c. iii. and Mr. Young's evidence, AssemhJy
Report, Svo. cd. p. ol. Tlie mint price of silver then coincided more nearly
with the market price timn at prcs(;nt.
f These facts were taken from h table in the second edition of Kelly's Cam-
biit. See uiso article «' Money" in the Supplement lo the l^neycl. Uiilt.
'20
£120 4s. 2^d. In the state of the English currency last
year, silver commanded rather a higher price, seldom sink-
ing below 4s. 11 gd. the ounce, and sometimes commanding
5s., giving for the value of the dollar 4s. 2d., and requiring,
in our erroneous language, 8 per cent premium to bring
the real up to the nominal par, £100 sterling being worth
£120 currency, or, in fact, 20 per cent premium. This,
therefore, must be considered the approximate par* of ex-
change,— the ordinary average value of our currency esti-
mated in British sterling.
From the facts thus exhibited, it will be seen, that our
ordinary premium is only an expedient necessary to bring
the real par up to the nominal par. The analysis of the
process will make this evident : —
B. d.
Average value for the dollai-, 4 2 sterling, £ 100
8 per cent premium on 50d. is 0 4 8
Nominal value of the dollar, 4 6 sterling, 108
Add one-ninth, according to the ordinary rule, page ( ,) 0 6 12
Current denomination of dollar, 5 0 120
Hence, when exchange is nominally at 6 or 7 per centpre-
mium — as in June 1831 — it is, intact, at a discount; that
* The lowest price of silver occurred in March 1822 and in September 1826,
both, be it remembered, periods of low prices, consequent upon commercial dis-
tress and a contracted currency. The price was 4s. J0|d. This price will be
found to give 4s. lid. .6 for the value of the dollar, corresponding to which
will be found, as a par, the nominal premium of £10 9s. 2d. per £100, a par
which would allow exchange to get up to nearly 13 per cent before the pre-
cious metals would begin to be exported.
The highest price occurred from September to the close of 182.5, the very top
of the speculative period, with a currency redundant, and just before the cele-
brated panic. The price was 5s. Id., giving for the value of the dollar
4s, 2|d..6, or nearly ("within 4-10 of an i of) 4s. Sd., and a nominal premium
of £,6 Is. 4d. per dElOO, hence, the average par of 8 per cent would, at that
time, almost have fulfilled the condition of an exportation of silver. The mean
between the two extremes coincides very nearly with the ordinary average, as
may be seen by comparing the annexed table with B, No. 2, of Appendix.
Highest....
Lowest. ...
Price of
silver.
Value of
dollar.
Nominal
premium.
Value of JlOOiu
Halifax currency.
s. d.
5 1
4 lOj
s. d.
4 21.6
4 1 .6
£ s. d.
6 14
10 9 2
£ g. d.
117 17 Of
122 14 7i
Mean
4 UJ
4 3 .1
8 5 3
120 5 10
21
is, unless the par has been disturbed by an advance, above
the ordinary rate, of the price of silver ; and wlien tlie pre-
mium is nominally 9| per cent, as now, (August 1832,) it
is, in fact, only 1| per cent above the ordinary par. The
price of silver in London, according to the last (piotation,
was as low as at the lowest period, namely, 4s. lOfd.
This would give nearly 10| per cent as the par, and the
present real exchange actually at nearly 1 per cent dis-
count.
From these considerations it appears to me highly
inexpedient to fix a par of exchange. It leads to faulty
language, and to much inconvenience, and, as far as I can
discern, answers no good purpose. In changing its lan-
guage from " so much per cent premium'^ to " so muck
" sterling per Spanish dollar''^ the Government has acted
wisely ; and there appears no good reason why the im-
provement should not be extended to the language of ex-
change in general. If, however, it be determined to make
use of a par of exchange, from which all fluctuations shall
be made to start, it would be extremely desirable that
such par should be exact. But it has already been seen,
that the par of exchange between silver-using America and
gold-using England must be liable to perpetual variation ;
we are, consequently, constrained, as the best course open
to us, to fix upon the par of exchange, which the average
price of silver, taken over a period sufficiently long to in-
clude fluctuations from highest to lowest, is found to indi-
cate. In other words, if there exist no unvarying par of
exchange to fix upon the approximate par of exchange,
namely, 8 per cent premium, or adding what is afterwards
necessary to bring the whole into currency 20 per cent,*
the rules of conversion being, — to sterling add one-fifth to
give currency, — from currency deduct one-sixth to give
sterling.
It does not appear, that any, the slightest, inconvenience
could arise, were this change brought about at once, — were
the language of exchange, — for it is a case of naming only,
and has nothing to do with the state of the currency, — to
be altered. It would not interfere with existing contracts,
as all are here made in currency of four dollars to the £1,
and the £1 of four dollars would still be the currency of the
country. It would not augment taxation by affecting the
* Sec the Aiia'ysii in the last page.
22
»
crown duties, inasmuch as the rule of conversion, by which
the sterhng crown duties are converted into currency, is
fixed by an order in Council, and in fact, at this moment,
departs equally from the customary par, and from truth,
being more than the first and less than the last by about
4 per cent.*
Occasionally, it may be urged, some few contracts made
in England in sterling, are paid here in currency, such for
instance as freight. In the majority of these cases, it is
stipulated, payable at the actual premium of exchange at the
time being. When, however, either through ignorance or
inadvertency, such stipulation is omitted, the creditor
receives less than his due, a species of injustice of which
law should, in no case, be made the sanction. Sometimes
the payment of freight in currency is conventional — is
nnderstood and allowed for by all parties concerned. In
this case, if competition had reduced freight to a certain
rate so payable, it would have reduced it 8 per cent more,
if payable at the ordinary premium. I need not expatiate
any further on the par value of our currency. If I have
failed to make myself understood, I must beg the reader
to go over, once more, the propositions I have endeavoured
to elucidate and which I now recapitulate.
First, That it is the quantity of pure silver contained in
the £1 currency, at the English market price, that deter-
mines the par for the time being, {ante page 18.)
Second, That as the market price of silver like that of
all other commodities, is perpetually fluctuating, there can
be no fixed par of exchange, {ante page 18.)
Third, That if it be deemed adviseable to establish a
par from which all fluctuations shall start, and if there be
no par to be found at all times correct ; then we are con-
strained to adopt the best course open to us, and fix upon
the approximate par, {ante page 21.)
Fourth, That the average price of silver taken over a
period sufficiently long to include fluctuations, from the
highest to the lowest will indicate with perfect accuracy
the said approximate par, {ante page 21,) and lastly.
Fifth, That 4 l|s. 3 is the average value of the dollar as
* The people of this country and the popular press ever jealous— and wisely
—of any attempt of the mother country at taxation, are not aware tlint whcii
the mode of computing, the Spanish dollars was changed from 4s. Od. to 4s. 4d.
at the Custom HousCj 4 per cent, was added to the crown duties.
23
exhibited by the above process, giving in the erroneous lan-
guage now in use 8} per cent premium, as the average
value of our currency, or including the addition which is
necessary to bring tiie whole into currency 20 4 2| per
cent, £100 sterling being actuftlly worth £120 4s. 2?,d.
{ante page 20, and appendix B. 2,) but as, for the last few
years, owing to the steadier state of the English currency,
4s. 2d. is the average value of the dollar,it would be expedient
to adopts per cent as the approximate par, {ante jjage^O.)
Section II.
On the Effects of Paper Money, on the Nominal Exchange.
In the foregoing section, I have endeavoured to illustrate
the two circumstances liable to influence the nominal ex-
change, and so produce fluctuation in the par value of our
currency. These two circumstances we have seen are,
firsty fluctuations in the market price of bullion, second^
changes — generally reductions in the weight and fineness of
the coins. It is but seldom the second occurs, one instance
only (page 19,) having been brought within our notice;
the first, on the other hand is never wholly inoperative
In this section the effects on the nominal exchange of the
use of paper money in either of the interchanging countries,
will be considered.
Paper money has several inconvenient properties inse-
parable from it. For our present purpose, however, it is
only necessary to mention one, namely, liability to excessive
issue, and consequent depreciation.
Under proper regulations and restrictions, this bad pro-
perty, and indeed all others, of paper money may be almost
nullified ; it is only where a vicious system of banking
exists that it amounts to an evil of any moment. A paper
currency is either irredeemable, — by some writers called
compulsory — or convertible.
An irredeemable paper currency is where the issuers are
exempt from paying coin for the same at the will of the
holder. A convertible paper currency speaks for itself; it
is the reverse of the other.
The issue of paper money is profitable. It is a means
of borrowing so much capital as it represents ; hence the
temptation to issue largely is very great.
24.
So long, however, as coin can be demanded at the will of
the holder, a limit exists to the evil of excessive issues and
consequent depreciation.* When, on the other hand, the
obligation on the issuing banks to pay in bullion is removed,
there is no limit to depreciation. It must become ex-
cessive.
The limit to excessive issues where the currency is con-
vertible, may be readily explained.
The effect of depreciation is to raise prices of all commo-
dities and among the rest of gold and silver. Still, how-
ever, the sovereign will only lawfully purchase as much as
£1 in paper money, although the gold which it contains is
worth, let us suppose £1 Is. It, hence, becomes profitable
to convert sovereigns into bullion, and they are either car-
ried to the melting pot on account of the holders or are sur-
reptitiously sold to the melters at the supposed premium of
5 per cent, less the cost and profits of melting. This highly
profitable trade begets a disposition to carry paper to the
banks for coin, coin is accordingly demanded, until the
volume of the currency is again reduced ; and bullion de-
clines to a price at which melting is no longer profitable.
Besides the melting of the coin, when it is more valuable
in the shape of bullion, there is another check upon depre-
ciation in its profitable exportation.
An advance in the price of bullion, has the effect of turn-
ing the foreign exchanges against the paper- using country.
One hundred sovereigns in England will purchase only
£100 worth of commodities, though the gold they contain
is worth — as in the case already supposed — say £105 in
the depreciated paper currency. Sent abroad, however, and
exchanged for foreign metallic currency, the sum will pur-
chase a bill on London for £105, less the cost oj transmitting
the precious metals, f In this case the same motive exists to
demand coins at the banks and the same effects follow. By
* Many writers are in the habit of considering the circumstance of a paper
currency being convertible at the will of the holder, a perfect guarantee against
depreciation. So it would be if perfect cojivertibility could exist. The theory
is correct only as far as allowances are made, for the checks necessarily oppoied
to perfect convertibility ; when applied practically, they must be allowed for
like resistance and other countervailing forces in mechanics. It may be well in
elementary treatises to leave out their consideration at first, but their operation
should be subsequently fully treated of; as this essay is practical they are entered
into at once.
t For the real exchange and its limits, see next section.
25
the operation of one or both of the above checks a favor-
able turn is given to the exchanges, — bullion declines in
price, — the currency is pro tanto raised to, or nearly to par,
and both melting and exportation cease to be profitable.
The natural limits, therefore, to the depreciation of a con-
vertible paper currency are the cost of transmitting coin to
adjacent countries or of melting it ; wliicliever of the two
happens to be least.
VVhen Governments permit the melting of coin, and
the free exportation of coin and bullion, as the Government
of Great Britain now wisely does, there is but a very trifling
expense incurred in distributing the precious mr.tals between
contiguous and circumjacent countries, in the exact quanti-
ties required by their respective trades ; very trifling, there-
fore, will be the depreciation to which the currency of
Great Britain or any such free country is liable. When,
however, difficulties are thrown in the way, when penalties
are instituted against the exporters of coin and bullion, and
against melters, the object has been entirely defeated.
Neither melting nor exportation have ever been stopped
thereby ; they have merely been thrown out of respectable,
into disreputable hands, and rendered more costly, inas-.
much as something has to be added to compensate risk of
infringing the law, in addition to cost of freight and insu-
rance. Even if the penalty for infraction be imprisonment
or death, and not fine or forfeiture, it is still estimatable in
money, because, there is no penalty men will not render
themselves liable to for money, especially taking into consi-
deration the chances against detection.
This increased cost of distributing the precious metals gives
an increased latitude to depreciation — to the profitable issue
of notes ; hence, we may easily understand, why paper
issuing banking establishments have always raised an out-
cry against the permission to deal with money as with a
commodity ; and called for sanguinary and cruel penal laws
against a useful class of men— the dealers in bullion. Any
natural or other circumstance apart from systems of banking,
which increases the cost of distributing the precious metals
also extends the limit of depreciation : — war by raising
freight and insurance ; seasons by doing the same. On
these it is not necessary to expatiate in this place ; we shall
treat of them more fully when we come to inquire into the
real exchange. The limit may also be extended and do-
D
26
preciation promoted by any regulation, which throws diflTi-
cuity, or trouble in the way of taking notes to be changed.
The closing of banks at hours and on days, at and on which
only^ certain classes can attend to get their notes changed.
This, it may be objected, may be obviated by employing
others who can attend ; to which it may be replied, that the
employment of others is attended with risk, small it may
be, but at all events sufficient to stand in the way of the
perfect convertibility of paper money.
To give a bank an exclusive privilege to supply too large
a district, also throws an enormous difficulty — distance — in
the way of conversion, including risk of conveyance ; it may
amount quite to an assignable premium.
The last item I shall notice under the head of impedi-
ments in the way of convertibility, is a small note currency.
Spread over a considerable district and necessarily in many
hands, small notes have a great tendency to fill up the chan-
nels of circulation, to an extent to produce depreciation.
No one individual possesses enough to make it worth
his while to carry them to a distance to be changed
for coin,* unless the depreciation be sensibly great;
and, the circulation of a district of moderate extent,
does not offer any inducement to a money dealer to set up
in the neighbourhood. The whole business would not pay
him. With a sound system of banking, however, small
notes in the opinion of many eminent men, and among the
rest of the late Mr. Ricardo, may be allowed currency, with-
out producing inconvenient results. When combined with
monopoly of a large district,! with restrictions in the
way of exportation and melting — and with vexatious
delay begetting regulations at the banks and changing
houses, paper money may produce and has produced de-
* I leave out of the account the case of suspected stability, I assume that
perfect faith exists in the safety of banks, inducements to demand coin arising
out of the state of the currency are alone treated of,
\ Had Mr. Attwood and the currency mongers succeeded in introducing a
small note currency, it is most likely, that combined with the exclusive privi-
leges of the Bank of England, the British currency would have been per-
manently depreciated — prices would have been permanently raised — and the
exchanges permanently against her, oiir par would have been reduced nominally,
in the ratio of the depreciation — if they had succeeded to the extent of calling
*• half a crowa three shilliogs," currency and sterling would then coincide.
27
preciation, although nominally convertible at the will of tlie
holder.
An instance of an expedient to create delay resorted to
by the Bank of England, merits a place here. When silver
was a legal tender to any amount, the Bank of England,
during the prevalence of an extraordinary demand for bul-
lion, actually paid in sixpences ; hence demanders gave
up the point in despair, and the currency continued depre-
ciated— the foreign exchanges continued against England.
This case is not without a parallel here. When large
demands have been made upon the Bank coffers, they have
made their payments in the small and depreciated coins.
These coins not being available for the purposes for which
they were demanded, have been returned to the banks, to
the manifest promotion of paper issues. But dollars or half
dollars were absolutely required, hence those who required
them, were constrained to pay a premium rather than go
w^ithout. Now will any one affirm that this premium was
created wholly by the existence of the depreciated coins,
unaided by any excess of paper ? Were not the depreciated
coins, rather a tool in the hands of the Banks, wherewith to
force their notes into circulation, and sell their stock of
sound coins at a profit, over the expense of bringing them
from the United States, where they are in the habit of re-
.•eetfting them in payment for exchange ? and would it not
be well to deprive the Banks of such an instrument of in-
jury ? I cannot anticipate any but an affimative answer to
these questions. If the debased coins were the sole cause,
dollars and half dollars would be at a permanent premium,
it is only when other causes concur — and what so obvious
as an excess of paper — that such premium exists. I have
extended my remarks on the possibility of a convertible
currency being depreciated, to a sufficient length, let us
now consider the more obvious case of an irredeemable or
compulsory paper currency.
It is well known to the reader, that the run upon the
Bank of England produced by a fear of invasion in I70G-7,
reached such an alarming extent in the early part of 1797,
that on Saturday, the 25th of February, only i:i,-272,OOU
remained in her coffers, and as the run was expected to
continue through the following week, an order in Council
was issued on the intervening Sunday, prohibiting the
Bank of Englnnd from paying its notes in cash, until the
28
sense of the Commons could be taken on the subject. Par-
liament soon after continued the restriction, " till six
months after the signature of a definitive treaty of peace."
The return to cash payments did not take place till 1821.
In 1817, the Bank was fully able to resume paying cash ;
it was not however, till 1819, that 59 Geo. III. c. 78, called
Mr. Peel's Bill, v/as passed. This Act ordained, that cash
payments should be resumed in 1823, but as the Bank had
been some time preparing for the event, they commenced
specie payments on the 1 st May, 1 82 1. Hence the period of
restriction and depreciation — halcyon days to the Bank,
alas never to return ! — may be said to have endured twenty-
four years.
As soon as the Bank Directors began to feel the power
with which the Bank Restriction Act invested them, they
fully availed themselves of its advantages. Their issues
were pushed to a great extent indeed, and in Oct. 1813,
the currency had reached the enormous depreciation of
27 ro percent. In the appendix (G) will be found a table
shewing the annual average depreciation of the British Cur-
rency from 1800 to 1821, and it is to this table, the reader
must refer for an explanation of the state of the American
exchanges during the period.
During the American War, 1812 — 1815, exchange mr^^
London was at a heavy discount. Some attributed it to an
extensive circulation of army bills, others to other causes.
It is, however, evidently in the state of the English cur-
rency at the time that the cause is to be found.
At the extreme height of the bank restriction, when the
currency was 27i-o per cent depreciated, £100 drawn -ia-.*^^
London would only be paid in paper money, worth £72, 2s.
in bullion. Had the £100 bill been paid for in Canada, in
notes equally depreciated, no disturbance of the ordinary -
course of exchange would have taken place ; but hard dol-
lars had to be given, no more hard dollars, therefore,
w^ould be given than would discharge the debt, by send-
ing them home, expense of sending home included, of
which in next section. At the period to which we allude
silver was worth 6s. lid. per ounce, giving for the value of
the dollar 5s. 9|d. A debt of 5s. Old. sterling, therefore,
could be paid with 5s. currency, hence £100 sterling could
be paid with £86, 12s. lOd. currency. But £86, 12s. lOd.
currency, at the assumed par, (assumed then as well as
29'
now,) is £77, 19s. 7d. sterling, hence a nominal discount
of 22 per cent was necessary to bring down our metallic
currency to the par of British paper. Thus,
£100 0 0 sterling.
Discount, 22 0 5
£77 19 7
Addone-ninth,.., 8 1,^ 3
£86 12 10
The proportionate value between gold and silver in the
Lopdon market was then nearly what it is now, namely,
about 1 to 15.52 per cent, hence, gold being considered the
standard of English money, the bullion value of the dollar
was the same as now.
Gold, £5 8 0 per ounce.
Silver, 0 6 11 ditto.
Hence,
As £5, 8s. : 6s. lid. : : £S, 17s. lO.Jd. : 4s. ll^d.
On that supposition let us try the value of £100 sterling in
our currency, less the amount of depreciation.
£100 0 0 sterling.
/^Tx-.- Less highest depreciation, 27 18 0
Metallic value of £100, £72 2 0
Add one-fifth, 14 8 5 by rule, page ( .)
£86 10 5
To produce this result would, in our language of ex-
change, require a discount of 22^ per cent, thus agreeing
very nearly (within n, per cent) with our first calculation
at the market price of the dollar.
Depreciation of the currency at home is, in its effects,
equivalent to our enhancement or appreciation of the cur-
rency here ; and, vice versa, depreciation of our currency is
equivalent to appreciation of the currency of Great Britain.
Tlie first determines the exchanges against England, the se-
cond in her favour. I believe I have now gone through all
that need be said on the effects, on the nominal exchange, of
a paper currency liable to depreciation. It affects the ex-
change mediately through the piece of silver, and is, in fact,
only a case under the general cause mentioned in the first
section of this chapter, namely, " Fluctuations in the Mar-
*' ket Price of Silver." My reasons for omitting its discus-
so
sion in that place, are, first, the circumstance just mention-
ed, namely, it being a sub-cause only, coming under a more
general rule ; second, I wished, for the sake of perspicuity,
to confine our disquisitions to the metalhc value of our cur-
rency ; and third, its real importance demanded notice by it-
self.
We shall now be better able to understand the question
of the real exchange, wiiich will accordingly form the sub-
ject of the third section of this chapter.
Section III. — The real Exchange. y
The two sections just completed, are devoted to the con-
sideration of the circumstances by which the nominal Ex-
change is liable to be affected. We are now prepared to
understand the real exchange, or that premium or discount
which is generated by the circumstances of supply and
demand.
The exports of every country form its purchasing power
— the fund by means of which it supplies itself with those
commodities, w hich it is either wholly unable to produce, or
at least cannot produce, so advantageously as purchase.
The value of tliese exports has to be drawn for — this then
forms the supply of bills of exchange. The demand is
created by the necessity of paying for imports. When,
therefore, the imports and exports amount to the same sum
— when in other words the debts and credits are equal, the
real exchange will be at par. But it must evidently be of
rare occurrence that, in any country, the imports exactly
balance the exports. It is the difference which creates the
real exchange ; let us seek an illustration. The year
1830 was one of extraordinary production in America. Of
wheat and flour especially, the surplus was very great.
The advancing averages in England offered every induce-
ment to export as early as possible ; the spring export of
grain and flour in 1831 was accordingly greater than in
any previous year. The drafts for these shipments come
into the market early in the season, even before the open-
ing of the navigation, and as when the importation com-
menced, it was found to be by no means excessive, the real
exchange continued at a discount in New York up to the
middle of April, and in Canada up to the middle or latter
end of June. Indeed, in New York, it sunk to 7| per
51
cent, {h per cent, discount) in June after having been above
par (8 per cent.) — see Appendix.
By looking at B 2 (Appendix) it will be found, that the
par value of our currency was 8 per cent, premium, during
1831. Indeed from August to December the par sunk, by
the advance in the price of silver and the consequent en-
hancement of our currency to 7| ; up to the middle of April
the average rate of exchange was 6^' — ranging from 6 per
cent, to 7§. Correcting these rates by 8 per cent, the par at
the time, we have real Exchange li discount, with a range
from 2 to | per cent.
Of the total exportation of the United States of America,
cotton alone forms nearly one half * say i-o"o • Of course, the
effects of fluctuations in the quantity exported of so impor-
tant an article as cotton are most marked ; accordingly we
find that a deficiency in the exports of cotton shows itself at
once on the exchanges in the shape of an advance; an in-
crease in the export on the other hand produces the opposite
effect, while there existed every inducement to export wheat
and flour, the state of the cotton market in England was far
from encouraging. This state of the market combined
with a low rate of exchange did away with all inducement
to ship, and by the 1st July, the exportation of cotton was
106,061 bales deficient compared with 1830. This carried
with it its own remedy. The supply of bills of exchange
fell short of the demand — their price — the rate of exchange
— accordingly rose above 10 per cent, or deducting the
nominal exchange, more than two per cent.
Over a certain point, however, the real exchange cannot
advance — it is subject to its own peculiar limit ; what that
limit is, is by no means difficult to discover.
" It is very easy to see, what is the limit to the price of
" bills, called in the language of merchants the exchange.
" The motive to the purchase of a bill is the payment of a
» Cotton, 2G,COO,000
Wheat, Flour, &c G,000,000
Tobacco, 5,000,000
Rice, 2,500,000
Pork 1,500,000
Timber, 1,700,000
Other small articles 12,400,000
55,700,000
-American Almanack, 1830,
S2:
" debt. The merchant, however, on whom it is incum*
" bered to pay a debt in Holland, can pay it without a bill,
" by sending the metal. To send the metal is attended with
" a certain cost. If he can obtain the bill without paying
" beyond this cost, he will purchase the bill. This cost,
" therefore, is the utmost amount of the premium which he
" will pay for a bill, and tite limit to the rise of its price.
" As the cost of sending the metal which is a great value in
" a small bulk, is never considerable, the (real) exchange
" can never vary from par, to a considerable amount."
{MiWs Political Economy^ M Edition, p. 187.) The truth
of the above doctrine, wdiich Mr. Mill has so happily and logi-
cally expressed — will at once be acknowledged by every
practical merchant. There is scarcely one of us, who has,
not occasionally made it a matter of calculation whether it
would not be better — more profitable, all circumstances con-
sidered— freight and insurance incurred, less interest saved
— to pay for our imported goods with coin rather than with
bills of exchange at high rates. And when our determina-
tion has been in favor of an exportation of the precious me-
tals, it has invariably been because the expense of transmis-
sion has been something less than the rate of exchange.
Every exportation of coin or bullion, takes out of the
market a demander of exchange, accordingly we find that
when the transmission of the precious metals has gone on
for some time, an effect on the exchange is the consequence
— a decline takes place, until it reaches a point at which,
exportation ceases to be attended with profit, — is no longer
a saving ; and then it stops.
I have already stated, that above a certain point the real
exchange cannot long continue, being limited to the cost of
transmitting the precious metals. As that cost, however, is
subject to variation, it follows that the point above alluded*
to is by no means stationary.
It is chiefly by an increase of freight and insurance, that
the cost of transmitting the precious metals is enhanced.
It may be well therefore to state the leading circumstances
usually operating upon freight and insurance. They are
first, distance ; second, season ; third, war ; there is also a
fourth cause independent of freight and insurance, namely
legislative interference.
First, Between countries situated with respect to each
other, as are England, France, Holland, Germany, &c. the
expenses of freight and insurance are exceedingly small, be-
3:5
twcen those countries accordingly the real exclian2;e is also
small ; and moreover, owing to the facility of distributing
the supply of bills between the chief connnerciai cities in
the exact proportion required, very steady. Between
countries situated at a greater distance, as England and
Anierica,the expenses are greater,exchange will accordingly
be found to lluctuate to the more extended limit.
Second, In the summer season when freight and insu-
rance, especially the latter, are low, in the absence of other
impediments, the cost of transmission from America will be
small, perhaps not over H to I2 per cent, that is, making
allow ance for the saving of interest on the thne a bill would
have to run. In the winter season, however, freight and in-
surance may both advance to an extent to enhance the
cost of transmission to fully 3 or 4 per cent. If a simulta-
neous decline take place in the price of silver, so as to
advance the par. above the ordinary level, it may happen
that 13 or 14 per cent premium, will scarcely fullil the con-
ditions of an exportation of the precious metals. This was
the case in the winter of 1823, the price of silver was low in
Kngland, making our par 9^ per cent, so that allowing 3| per
cent for winter cost of transmission, it would require ex-
change to have advanced to 13| or 14 per cent before an
inducement would exist to prefer an exportation of dollars
to the purchase of a good bill. Throughout 1823, however,
the state of export and import favored a low exchange, so
that the operation of the check was never required. As
a further illustration, but in an opposite direction, I take
the state of things last year, (1831,) By the higher price
of silver our currency was raised in value, requiring only 8
percent (instead of 9^') to raise it to the nominal par. The
rate of exchange in July, August, and September, ranged
from 9| to 10| per cent premium, shewing a mean real ex-
change of 2| per cent. An exportation of coin accordingly
-took place to the extent of $5,000,000, without having any
material immediate elfect on the exchange ; lor in the (b!-
lowing month exchange rose to II per cent. Freight and
insurance, however, was rising to their winter rates, hence
the limit was extended. The two remaining circumstances
allecting the cost of transmitting the precious metals do not
require to be treated at great length.
Third, War, "It appears from the evidence annexed to
" the Report of the Bullion Committee, that the expense
" of carrying gold from London to Hamburg, w hich pre-
E
34.
" viously to the war only amounted to 2 or 2| per cent, had,
*' in the latter part of 1809, amounted to 7 per cent, shovv-
" ing that the limits, within which fluctuations in the real
" exchange were confined in 1809,were about three times as
" great as those within which they were confined in
" 1773." — Supp. Encyc. Brit. art. Exchange.
It is easy to see that the chances of suffering from the
" acts of the King's enemies," as the policies have it,
are greatly augmented by distance ; here war would pro-
duce much more marked effects on the exchanges of Ame-
rica, than of European countries.
Fourth., The effects of legislative restrictions in the
way of a free exportation of the precious metals have al-
ready been treated of in the previous section ; as they in-
crease the cost of transmission, so they extend the limit of
the real exchange.
When exchange has advanced sufficiently to fulfil the
conditions of an exportation of the precious metals, then
comes into operation another result productive of a decline
in the exchanges. I mean an increased activity in the ex-
port trade generally.
I would here remark that exportations of coin, bullion,
produce or manufactures produce their effects in the same
way. First J by diminishing the demand for exchange, as
when an importing merchant remits the precious metals or
produce, instead of buying a bill of exchange ; Second, by
increasing the supply, as when produce and coin or bul-
lion are shipped in the ordinary way and drawn against.
Still, however, it is the same phenomena, though brought
about by the agency of different classes of men.
In the spring of 1831, as we have seen, exchange was
low. Exportation, accordingly, was checked in all those
commodities upon which the state of the consuming markets
did not operate as an inducement. The falling off of cot-
ton alone was very great — at one time exceeding in value
six millions of dollars. Demand for exchange continued
the same ; but as the supply was diminished, exchange ad-
vanced. It advanced, as we have seen, to a height suffi-
cient to furnish the motive to transmit the precious metals ;
it did more, — it supplied another motive, — it made the ex-
portation of commodities profitable. An article which,
when exchange is at If below par, would be shipped to a
moderate extent only ; would be extensively shipped when
exchange was at 2 per cent premium. Such was the case
35
with cotton. The tlcficiency which at the end of June was
156,000 bales, compared with the previous year, was gra-
dually reduced, till at the end of September, — the close of
the cotton year, — the deficiency came under 70,000 bales.*
We have seen that the increased cost of transmitting the
precious metals towards the winter, stopped the export of
coin before it had brought down the exchange. What the
exportation of bullion, however, was unable alone to ac-
complish, it succeeded in doing aided by the continued
shipments of cotton. In November, exchange at New
York on London began to decline, and during the winter it
continued at about 9| per cent. In June of the present
year, the exportation of cotton had recovered itself, so that
it exhibited an increase compared with June 1831, exactly
equal to the deficiency of that period compared with June
1830, — hence, exchange would have decHned, had it not
been for an increased importation, with a diminished ex-
portation of flour and other articles, f
The exchange between Canada and New York is pure-
ly a real exchange. The currencies of Canada and of the
United States are the same, under different denominations ;
the premium or discount thereon, therefore, is regulated by
the principle of supply and demand, limited by the circum-
stances already fully described.
The demand for drafts on New York arises from the fol-
lowing circumstances : —
First, A considerable portion of the exports from Cana-
da consist of ashes, lumber, 'and other productions of the
United States. The value of these exports has, for the
most part to be remitted to New York, and thus creates a
demand for exchange.
Second, Produce is shipped from New York, Norfolk,
&c. to the West Indies on Quebec account.
Third, West India produce is sold in the Canadian mar-
kets to a considerable extent for merchants resident in
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Jkunswick, part of
the proceeds of the same being remitted to Nev/ York on
their account.
Fourth, Remittance has also to be made for the pre-
* See Appendix D.
f Since tliis was written, the stagnation of trnde resulting fioni cholcia lias
produced a I'^iipurury decline in exchange at New York.
3G
iniums of insurance on policies, under-written at New
York for Quebec account.
TIic supply of bills on New York arises, —
First, and chielly out of the circumstances of a large
quantity of government and private exchange, on London,
being sent to New York to be disposed of, for Quebec and
Montreal account ; Second, The losses at sea on the risks
taken at New York have to be drawn for.
If the drafts on London for the American produce sold
at and shipped from Quebec were at once transmitted to
New York, instead of being sold in the Canadian markets,
of course the first named source of demand would balance
a considerable portion of the fi,rst named source of supply.
The second and third sources of demand might also be
considered to be about sufficient to absorb and neutralize
the remaining portion of the first source of supply ; thus, —
A cargo of rum or sugar is to be disposed of here, the pro-
ceeds of which are to be invested in produce at New York
or Norfolk. The merchant sells the cargo, sends his order
to his New York or Norfolk agent, buys a bill of exchange
on London, sends it to his agent, and so closes the account
without the intervention of a draft on New York in any
shape.
When the losses at sea are placed against the premiums
paid, it is probable the balance is not very great. From all
these considerations, it appears that, on the whole transac-
tions, the drafts and credits between New York and Cana-
da will about balance, and the money rate of exchange on
the average will be at par. I say money rate of exchange,
because when exchange, taking the circumstances of sup-
ply and demand alone into consideration, should be !\tj)ar,
and would be so if paid in cash, a premium of 1 to IJ per
cent is given, in consideration of the seller granting a long
credit to the buyer ; this premium, therefore, must be con-
sidered rather as a guarantee commission than as a pre-
njium of exchange.
Supposing, then, that the debts and credits between Ca-
nada and the United States nearly balance, and that the
rate of exchange on the average is at par, — that is, fluctu-
ates as much one way as the other, — allowing for the
" guarantee commission" already described, — it follows,
that the rate of exchange at any particular time will be re-
gulated by the rate of exchange at New York on London.
At this moment the transmission of bills to New York
would lie allondetl with loss; few or none arc, (horefore,
sent, and the supply ol" bills on New York in conse(iuenco
is sn)all. The rate has accordin<:;ly risen to 3 a 4 per cent
premium. In July and August 1831 the exact converse
existed. Bills on London were higher at New York than
at Quebec. A large amount was sent tlown, enough, in-
deed, to bring the money rate of exchange on New Yoi k
to a discount. New Yoik is, in fact, the money market of
America, the great arbitrator of" the rate ofexciiange. To
her the drafts for the cotton shipments of the South, as
well as the bread stuffs of the North, find tlieir way for
sale. The leading circumstances aftecting the real exchange
have now been enumerated ; it remains only to add a short
section on the combined effects of the various, and some-
times conflicting, circumstances described in the three past
sections.
Section IV. — The Computed Exchange.
The combined effects of the nominal and real exchange
have been sometimes called the " computed exchange ;"
with a few remarks on which I shall dismiss this alieady
(I fear) too tedious chapter.
The nominal and real exchange act sometimes in the
same direction, and sometimes in different directions. In
1823, the computed exchange (actual rate) was, as exhi-
bited in E, 4 of the Appendix, £6 7s. 3d. per cent. In this
case the nominal and real exchange operated in opposite
directions ; the former, owing to the exceedingly low price
of silver, was £9 12s. ll|d. per cent premium; and the
latter, owing to a very moderate importation, and a great
encouragement to exportation, by reason of the advances
in the prices of almost all articles of American produce,
was £3 5s. 8d. discount. In this case the computed ex-
change expresses the diflference between the real and no-
minal exchange.
In the following year the nominal and real exchange
acted in the same direction, the computed exchange ex-
pressing these s?»72.9, namely, £9 4s. 4d. per cent, being
made up of nominal exchange 8 per cent, and real exchange
£l 4s. 4d. per cent premium. On the average of the six
years ending 1828, the nominal and real exchange was the
same, their sum was the average late ofexciiange for the
period, namely, £8 12s. 3(\. the value of the cmren<y, —
38
the nominal exchange for the same period was £8 5s. 4cl. ;
hence, the real cxcliangc, — that which was generated by
the state of supply and demand, — w^as only 6s. lid. per
cent, or rather over one-third per cent premium. On this
head no more need be said tlian to refer to Appendix F.
In the course of the above remarks we have adopted the
language forced upon us, — as we have already fully ex-
plained,— by the assumption of the par of 4s. 6d. sterling to
the dollar ; were that assumption abandoned, and the ap-
proximate par of 4s. 2d. the dollar adopted, £100 sterling
would be worth £120 currency, on which a premium of 1
per cent would be £1 4s. — of 2 per cent £2 8s. — and so
forth. A computed exchange of £22 8s. per cent would
t-iien be, — supposing the value of the dollar undisturbed, —
composed of nominal exchange 20 per cent and real 2 per
cent. I have already endeavoured to show, that it would
obviate much misconception w ere all assumption of a par
avoided, — were the dollar quoted at so many pence and
eighths ; or, what amounts to the same thing, the £1 ster-
ling at so many shillings and pence currency, as sovereigns
are now actually bought and sold. It would be interesting
could we exhibit the computed exchange during the period
of the Bank restriction : but I have not been able to meet
with a record of the actual rate of exchange in the years
1813 and 1814, only knowing that it was at a heavy dis-
count. It has already been explained that rather over 22
per cent discount was warranted by the depreciated state
of the English currency. If at that time exchange was at
a still heavier discount, — say at 25 per cent, — it would
show that the real exchange was actually depressed 3 per
cent by the then circumstances of supply and demand.
If, on the other hand, 20 per cent were the rate of dis-
count, it would be equal to a real exchange of 2 per cent
premium. As war was at that time being carried on in the
European Seas on a most stupendous scale, the rates of in-
surances between the Continental States were very high.
America seized the golden opportunity of annoying Eng-
land, while her hands were full, hence American insurances
were still further enhanced and the cost of transmission,
pj'o tantOj increased ; the limit of the real exchange was ex-
tended probably beyond what is usually supposed. A con-
stant supply of army bills concurred with a nominal ex-
change against England, to keep the computed exchange
at a heavy discount. Still wc are inclined to believe
59
that the real exchange was at a considerable premium.
This, however, is mere surmise, introduced merely to
show how such things might be. I liave been unable, — as
I have already stated, — to meet with any documents from
which I could learn any thing of the then rates.
CHAPTER III.
On the Introduction of British Silver as the Money of Cir-
culation, and the Pound Sterling as the Integer of Account.
To assimilate the currency of the colony to that of the
mother country seems to have been a i'avourite project
with both Committees, and also with most of the witnesses
examined. In the sight of many merchants, too, connected
with the home trade, it hath also found favour ; chiefly, it
should seem, because calculation would thereby become fa-
cilitated. I cannot, however, discover that it was ever
contemplated to make British silver the only current mo-
ney ; it was merely to form the basis ; all the coins now cur-
rent to be freely exchangeable at rates to be determined by
the wisdom of the Legislature. Supposing the value of all
other coins compared with the Spanish dollar to be known
and fixed, it would, of course, only remain to declare at
what rate the dollar should be exchangeable for British sil-
ver.
Before T go into this question, connected with that of
the possibility of keeping British silver in the Province, I
beg to offer to the most serious consideration of the reader
a few observations on the general question of the expedien-
cy of such a change in our currency.
Of the money of account, the denomination would be
unchanged. We should still contract debts in pounds, shil-
lings, and pence ; but we should contract them in pounds,
shillings, and pence of greater intrinsic value ; hence, to ac-
quire the sanje nominal sum, we should have to give more
value — more of the produce of labour for it.
In parting with commodities sellers ought to content
themselves with a nominally lower price — lower by the
greater value of the money received, say 20 per cent ; and
buyers, in the case supposed, ought to use the greatest cau-
tion in their purchases, paying say 20 per cent less than be-
fore. Thus, suppose rum to be selling for 2s. Gd. a gallon
in the present currency, it would be worth only 2s. Id. in
40
the new and more valuable currency. Now all this is both
tlicoroticaliy and practically true ; and if every individual
in the country could be made acquainted with it at once,
not the slightest inconvenience could, by any possibility,
follow the proposed change. Prices would, as it were,
nominally jump down at once, and so remain really and in-
trinsically the same ; and, if the measure were to be ac-
companied by a retrospective law, declaring that antece-
dent contracts not completed should be at the proportion
of £100 oX the new currency for every £120 of the old, all
would be done that the nature of the case would require.
In the answers of the several gentlemen examined by the
Committee of the Council, as to the question of expediency,
no very steady conception of the nature of the inconveni-
ence to be apprehended appears to have been entertained.
Their fears seem to have had reference rather to existing
contracts, than to mischief in bringing the measure about ;
though it must be evident, that as far as unfulfilled contracts
are concerned, inconvenience might be fully obviated, by
declaring so much of the new currency to be worth so
much of the old. The real source of disturbance shall be
presently explained ; in the meantime I beg to submit to
tiie reader the substance of the answers made by the seve-
ral witnesses to the following very important question : —
-' Are you of opinion that it would be advisable and be-
" neficial to assimilate the money of account and circulation
" with the money of account and circulation of the United
" Kingdom, and if so, for what reasons ?"
The gentlemen examined were the Cashiers of the two
Banks, Mr. Simpson and Mr. Freer ; Mr. Finlay, Mr. Le-
mesurier, and the late Mr. Leather, merchants ; and the
late Mr. Keys, a dealer in exchange.
Mr. Simpson doubted the expediency of the measure, and
spoke very decidedly of the inconvenience that would attend
the change, at least for a time*
Mr. Freer was not certain that it would be beneficial, he
apprehended that so great a change would be productive of
inconvenience.
Mr. Finlay spoke in its favor, but thought it should be
applied to all the Colonies ; he further expressed his opin-
* Mr, Simpson's answers throughout, are marked by superior knowledge o£
the subject.
41
ion, that as to the money of chculation, it matters little of
what it consists, &c. provided its intrinsic value in British
sterling were correctly fixed.
Mr. Lemesurier is decidedly of opinion, that the measure
in question would be beneficial and expresses no fear of
inconvenience.
The late Mr. Leather's evidence appears to be against
the measure, among other reasons, because it would injuie
vested interests. " I may instance it by myself," he said,
" I have a long lease of property at a rate of rent payable
" in tlie current money of the Province, to which the pro-
" posed bill would add largely."
Mr. Keys expressed his doubts of the expediency of the
measure, on the ground of the inconvenience and confusion
which must ensue.
It will be observed that Mr. Finlay's opinion is in favour
— Mr. Lemesurier's strongly in favour of the measure, and
the other gentlemen are more or less against it, though some
clothe their dissent in the language of doubt. It is worthy
of remark also, that all mention " inconvenience" as a
ground of objection, though not one endeavours to describe
that inconvenience, an omission which I shall now attempt
to fill up. In the first section of the preceding chapter, we
have seen, that in point of relative value sterling is to cur-
rency as £100 to £120. Hence in a change from the latter
to the former, prices should, and indeed would, fall one sixth.
But would they do so at once? — I answer — No.
The price of an article, as we all know, is regulated by
the free competition of buyers and sellers. Sellers will,
generally, take the current rate of the market, but they will
at the same time be on the alert, to avail themselves of
every advantage which the circumstances of the times afford
to obtain an advance thereon. A buyer. A, from a distance
comes into town either totally ignorant of the change, or
but ill informed of its extent. He finds that the rum for
which a week before his neighbour B, had paid 2s. 6d. his
merchant offers to him at 2s. 3d. or 2s. 4d. the change having
tak^rt place in the meantime, he buys it as a bargain, not
having been informed that he should only have paid 2s. Id.
for it. At length the day of payment arrives, B, satisfies
his creditor with 2s. Id. in the new currency, because he
contracted his debt before flic change took place. A, on
the other hand, finds himself obliged to pay the price he
had engaged to pay, because forsooth he contracted his
r
42
debt it is assumed with his eyes open. Of course A, is only
deceived once, and as a knowledge of the matter spreads
around, the inconvenience subsides ; the difference of the
two currencies would soon become understood, and seller
after seller would reduce his price, till at last the theory
would be verified.
I have not as yet shown all the evil which would accom-
pany such a change. A low price promotes consumption —
an apparently low price will do the same thing. Rum at
2s. 3d. say, following 2s. 6d. would induce the country
buyers on credit to enlarge their stoclrs. Stocks in first
hands would accordingly diminish. This would be accor. -
panied by a real advance in the price of the article. Impor-
tation would l)e encouraged to an extent to reduce the price
of the article below the natural level, and most probably
involve merchants in losses, greater than their first gains as
above described. Coincident upon such losses, are mercan-
tile failures ; if numerous, aflfecting public confidence and
credit and reacting still further upon prices to an extent to
produce what is usually called revulsion, a state of things
to be avoided by all possible means.
There can I think be no doubt, that all sellers would for
a time be benefitted, by the delay which would take place
before prices assumed the new level, and among the rest the
Sellers of Labour. Wages would not at once subside.
Those who employed labourers w ould have in fact more
to pay than before ; but as the price of the produce would
be in continual process of reduction, profits would be less.
The change of money would, therefore, act as a most unfair
tax on profits. Wages are now quite sufficient to support
the labourer in comfort, any further advance would not be
desirable, as it would tend to substract from the induce-
ments— already too few — to the introduction of capital into
the colony.
From a very careful consideration of the question, I am
fully of opinion that it would require more than two years to
adjust prices and quantities to the new standard ; so long a
period of disturbance and fluctuation, appears to me a very
strong argument against any change in the money of ac-
count. I do not affirm that it should decide the question,
but if more can be urged against the measure, and nothing
but facility of calculation in its favor, I do contend the
project should be wholly abandoned. On the question,
whether British silver would be more likely to remain in-
,43
Canada than Spanish and American doHars, four \vitncsses
out of seven, were of opinion tliat it would, provided the
Spanish dollar were made exchangeable for it at 4s. 2d.
These were the Commissary General, he said 4s. Id. to 4s.
2d. Mr. Finlay, Mr. Lemesurier, and Mr. Freer. One,
namely, Mr. Keys, was equally decided that British silver
would not remain in the country. The late Mr. Leather
was doubtful, and lastly, Mr. Simpson, whose opinion de-
serves recording, for the clear, though necessarily abridged
views it contains, gave it against the measure, he said, (1)
" Our calculating neighbours of the United States * always
*' take their returns for produce sold in Canada,in such money
" as will pass to best account in the United States. So that
" (2) British silver at its intrinsic worth would just be as like-
" ly to disappear from the Province, as any other description
" of coin at a proportionate rate ; but if (3) British silver is
" declared by law to be a legal tender, at a rate much above
" its intrinsic value, then there is little doubt but it will
'' remain until all other descriptions of coin disappear.'- f
It appears to me to be capable of proof, that British silver
would not permanently remain in the province if fixed at
4s. 2d. the dollar, as recommended by the four first wit-
nesses. In giving this opinion so diametrically opposite to
such authority, I feel — I cannot say diffidence, because the
labour I have given and the evidence, precludes the exis-
tence of doubt on my mind — but, a considerable degree of
anxiety to exhibit clearly to the reader the reasons for that
opinion.
We have seen that 4s. 2d. the dollar, is what we call 8
per cent premium. We have also seen that when exchange
advances to about 10 per cent, specie begins to leave the
country, and further, that in 1831, this state of things took
place to a considerable extent. In the present state of the
American currency specie is exported chiefly in the form
of Spanish- American and Mexican coin, and of such small
parcels of English money, as can be from time to time laid
hold of.
It may be easily shown, that on an advance in the rate of
exchange to 10 per cent and upwards, British silver
• The same would be done by any other people.
t As Mr. Simpson's evidence coutaius ihicc dibtiuct propositions, I have
marited them J, 2 and 3.
44
would be more desirable as an exportable commodity
than Spanish dollars. The value of Spanish and other
Foreign coin, is ever fluctuating with the varying state of the
bullion market, consequently, the exporter of dollars must
take into consideration this liability to decline ; in calcula-
ting, a small per centage, let us suppose | per cent, must be
allowed for that contingency. But British silver is liable
to no such fluctuation in the home market, it will be worth
to the exporter rather more than dollars ; it will conse-
quently bear a premium. If the estimated liability to dechne
be supposed | per cent, then it is likely the premium of
British silver would be J per cent. Buyers and sellers
would, as in other cases, divide the profit between them,
subject of course to the usual modifications of supply and
demand.
It has not unfrequently happened, that in the course of two
or three months, five or six millions of dollars have been ex-
ported from New York alone. The whole volume of the Ca-
nadian currency is probably not 3,000,000 * including Upper
Canada, certainly not 4,000,000 : hence, in times of gieat
demand similar to that of 1831, all, or nearly all the money
of Canada would disappear, and we should again return to
our present currency, which fortunately would be the full
extent of the evil.
It is quite true that the converse state of things might hap-
pen, that a low exchange, say 5 or 6 per cent, as we have
seen occur, would induce an importation of British silver,
always saleable, be it remembered, at 8 per cent but when
we consider that on the state of the exchanges warning us
to export, — exportation takes place immediately, but that
on the other hand a warning to import cannot be obeyed in
less than three months, no man, I think, could desire to see
British silver the money of circulation. America — the ■
possessor of the mines — is in fact our natural source of sup-
ply. From the mines all America first supplies itself, the
surplus being constantly exported.
If bills of exchange were usually drawn, bought, and sold
in London, on the American cities, as well as in the Ame-
rican cities on London, the argument would not be so strong.
There would be a rate of exchange in London to regulate
exportation of British silver to America, and a rate of ex-
* See Chaptei vi. lor a calculation of the amount of current money iu Lower
Canada.
45
change in America — as now — to regulate the cxj)oi tation of
British silver and other specie to London. Such a stale of
things exists between the several European states. But we
should still have distance to favour a (luctuation between
the extremes of abundance and scarcity. On this head I
need say no more. Of course if the dollar were rated
higher, say at 4s. 4d. it would not require an advance in the
exchanges above the ordinary level to drive every shilling
of British money out of America ; I owe £100 in England,
dollars sell there at 4s. 2d. hence I must send home 480 to
pay my debt; but I can buy British silver enough to pay
my debt for 402^ dollars — hence the 17-3 4 dollars would
he the inducement to export British silver, instead of dollars.
I say nothing of expense of transmission, because it would
be the same in both cases ; nor do I make any allowance
for the certainty of the value of the British silver — the un-
certainty of the value of the dollar in the home market, these
considered as inducements, having been lully treated of.
I must now beg the reader to turn back to page 43, and
read once more Mr. Simpson's evidence. Proposition
3 would be fulfilled, were the value of the Spanish dollar to
be rated as low as 4s. Id. or 4s. in other words were British
silver rated as high as 10^ or 12| per cent premium.
This would be in effect making British silver a depreciated
currency. Prices would advance ; the nominal exchange
would be against us, that is our par would be a nominal
premium expressive of the depreciate, say 2| a 4^ per
cent, and we should not be relieved of our surplus coin — a
{)erfect nuisance when in excess — until the real exchange
lad advanced to 2 per cent and upwards above the nomi-
nal exchange, in other words to 12$ and over, in the case of
4s. Id. being fixed ; to 141 and over, if 4s. were fixed. Dol-
lars of course we should never see, unless some unfortunate
ignorant were to introduce a few.
Importers, during the period of the introduction of British
silver at the above rates, would have to fight against an ad-
vancing nominal exchange, prices would be some time in
adjusting themselves, as shewn at page 41, only in the op-
posite direction, and in the meantime the whole class would
be suffering enormous loss — a portion thereof ruined.
In the I3ritish Parliament and elsewhere, we often hear
men talk of the danger of " tampering" with the cur-
rency. The term is often used by men whose conceptions
are extremely vague, and whose knowledge of the subject is
46
scanty. Here let it stand for the disturbance which this
Chapter is attended to avert.
1 would not, however, exclude the free introduction of
British money ; and if the change proposed in proposition
No. iv. of the next Chapter were carried into etfect, there
can be no doubt that both gold and silver would circulate
inconsiderable quantities, especially with the present emnii-
gration. All I wish to show is, that no forcible means should
be resorted to to introduce British silver ; and still less should
any change take place, which would, even for a time, dis-
turb prices.
CHAPTER IV.
REMEDIES.
The intelligent reader will have already perceived, that
the currency of this Colony requires but little * to put it into
as sound a state as any currency is susceptible of. That
httle it is the object of the present Chapter to point out. I
shall put the remedies in the form of propositions, explain-
ing such as do not appear to have come within the province
of the foregoing Chapter.
I. That it is expedient to call in the French crown pieces
and half crown pieces, at the public expense.
n. That the above coins be called in simultaneously, at
Quebec, Montreal, and Gaspe, and that the time of paying
such coins, at their present current rates, be limited to four-
teen days from the first notice.
HI. That the French half crowns be re-issued at 2s. 6d.
but that the French crowns be exported as bullion, be-
cause of their intrinsic value (5s. 4|d.) being extremely
awkw ard calculation.
IV. That from and after six calendar months from the date
of the Act, the par of exchange be assumed, for the pur-
pose of calculation, at what is now called 8 per cent pre-
mium, that is, at 20 per cent difference between sterling
and currency, in other words that £100 sterling be consi-
dered equal to £120 currency ; the rules of conversion
being
* 1 mean as far as relates to the coins in circulation ; before we can plume
(jurselves on our sjeady currency, we rc<iuire a reform in our banking system.
47
To CONVERT Sterling into Currency, add one fifth.
To convert Currency into Sterling, deduct one-
sixth.*
V. That the following coin be deemed a legal tender to
any amount, at the rates below specified :
Spanish and American dollai-s ."Js,
Do. do. do. half-dollars and Freiicii half- > ^ ,
Clowns V ^"^ ^'^•
F.nglish crown pieces (see IV.) (is.
Do. half-crowns do 3s.
Sovereio;ns do £.[ 4s.
Half-sovereigns do I2s,
VI. That the following coins be deemed a legal tender to
the extent of ten dollars only, at the rates below specified :
Spanisli and American quarter dollars Is. Sd.
Spanish ei-^hth do 7^d.
Do. sixteenth do 3.|d.
American ten cent pieces 6d.
English shillings, coined since 1817 Is. 2d.
Do. sixpences, do. do. do 7d.
Spanish one-fourth dollar without pillars Is.
Pistareens Is.
VII. That in all payments exceeding ten dollars, the re-
ceiver shall not be compelled to take any of the above small
coin,regulation Vi. being intended to provide fora subsidiary
coinage, and so facilitate small purchases and payments.
VIII. That an importation of copper coin be provided for
— coined expressly for the use of the Colony to the following
extent.
Of penny pieces, three tons
Of half penny pieces, five tons.
That the penny pieces be made to weigh 8 dwts. each,
and the half-penny pieces 4 dwts. which will produce
201,600 pieces of 1 penny,
672,000 pieces of a half-penny, being about 5d. for every
family, or merely Id. for every individual in the Province.
* As the Crown duties are ca'culated according to a different rule, it would be
well, were the Legislature to introduce a clause to protect the i)cople against
anyattempUat illegal taxation by the Grown authorities, l>y a sudden adoption
of this rule.
48
IX. That Ihc al)Ove be a legal tender to the extent of
FiVE Shillings only.
The above nine propositions, appear to me to include all
that is necessary, in order to remove the evils which have
been described. I shall conclude the Chapter, with some
few observations on each.
The first proposition has been already explained in the
1st Chapter. The number of days named in the second pro-
position, appear to me quite sufficient to enable all the
French coin, to find their way to either of the places
named, within the time specified. The provision for the
exportation of the French crowns as bullion, was inserted
.it the suggestion of Mr Simpson. The reason for the sug-
gestion requires no explanation ; its force will be apparent
to any practical man. It may be remarked, that by ship-
ping the coin in the summer, when insurance is low, and
drawing when exchange has advanced to the winter rates,
an actual saving may be effected of probably half and per-
haps even all the loss of calling in the French crowns.
No. IV. is proposed only as a second best course, be-
cause there exists a strong prejudice against the better plan
of adopting the American subdivision of the dollar into
cents. Except as greatly facilitating calculation, however,
it is, as we have already seen, not very important. The
change recommended, is absolutely necessary as shown in
section I. of the second Chapter.
The propositions V. VI. and VII. will act as a perfect
guarantee against depreciation. In the present state of the
currency, VI. would be wholly inoperative, inasmuch as
small coins are very scarce ; hardly a sufficient quantity
exists for the small exchanges of the cities ; and so far from
being forced to take even ten dollars worth, it is quite a
matter of favor to obtain them. To remedy this deficiency
it is proposed to restore the pistareens to circulation by en-
hancing its value. We should then have an influx of about
£25,000 of a most useful coin, which with the other small
coins in circulation would probably be sufficient as subsi-
diary coins, at least for a few years. By limiting it to ten
dollars as a legal tender it would never produce inconve-
nience. It would pass just as British silver now does in
England, namely, rated above its value, but limited both in
its whole quantity, and as a tender. The only difference in
the cases would be, that British silver is rated 10 per cent,
above its value, whereas the pistareens would only be 7|
49
per cent above. Even granting that tlicsc depreciated pis-
tareens produce their worst possible effects on the currency,
what will it amount to ? — Calling the whole currency half
a million and the pistareens £25,000 depreciated 7^ per
cent spread over the whole, it would just amount to ^ per
cent.
The necessity of an importation of copper coin must be
obvious to every one, not a more wretched copper coinage
— if coinage it can be called — exists any where ; and yet, de-
based as it is, its value is enhanced by scarcity about 2}^ per
cent, such being the price the banks have been glad to procure
it at. From Birmingham,a neat and tasty Colonial coin might
be obtained at the expense named in the next Chapter,
namely, £1116, and by making it weigh one third less than
the English coin, a profit might be made of it to help to
pay the loss on the French coin. By keeping its quantity
down, it would never be requisite to call proposition IX. into
operation. If eight tons were found insufficient, more might
be struck during the following year.
CHAPTER V.
EXPENSE OF CALLING IN THE DEBASED COINS.
Throughout these papers, the principle — that the loss in-
curred by calling in the worn coins should be borne in equal
shares by every individual in the community — has never
been lost sight of. This only can be attained by calling them
in at the expense of the local government ; to ascertain
what that expense will be is the object of this chapter.
As a necessary preliminary we must enquire what quan-
tity of coin exists in Lower Canada. The only estimate I
can find of the whole sum of coined money in Canada, is
contained in the evidence of Mr. Commissary General Routh,
before the Committee of the House of Assembly. In reply
to the question, " Have you formed any conjecture as to
" the whole amount of Foreign coins in Lower Canada," he
said, *' Calculating that there are about 100,000 fomilies in
" Lower Canada, and that each may have four or five dollars
" in specie, and that the Military chest would require as
" much more, and the Receiver General and the Banks
"about half that amount {Qy. each,) I should infer that
" the circulating medium for this country should be about
II
50.
" £250,000 to £300,000 sterling :" putting (he above into
" figures, we have
100,000 families at 4| dollars each £113,500
Banks 56,250
Receiver General , 56,250
Military Chest 112,500 •
4337,500
On the above estimate we have to remark, that the only
item subject to doubt is the first, it evidently depends on the
average quantity of silver the head of each family is in the
habit of keeping in his possession.
We require no vague opinion as to the quantity of money
in the hands of the Receiver General, or in the vaults of the
Banks, documents furnish us with those important facts.
For the contents of the Military Chest, we could have no
better authority than its keeper.
With regard to the money possessed by the Canadian
population, I am inchned to think the Commissary General's
estimate far too low ; instead of five dollars I should be in-
clined to say it w-as nearer ten dollars on the average.*
The money in the Receiver General's Chest, I take from
Appendix A ; that table, however, does not furnish a fair
criterion of the average cash in the hands of the Banks.
The periods were chosen by Mr. Holmes, f as stated in his
letter, because they enabled him to give the proportion of
each coin, accounts being taken at those periods by order of
the Directors. The average amount of cash in their vaults
I take from Appendix N, Journals of Assembly, 1830, and
M. 1831. :j:
* If I were confined to the French population, I should say twelve or fourteeu
dollars rather.
t See Report, p. 12.
1 Statement of cash in the vault
of the Montreal Bank, average
of each year and of five years.
Cash in the vaults of the Quebec
Bank, average of each year and
of four years.
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
71624
96823
76453
90232
82988
1826
1827
1823
1829
ISSO
86540
68660
62104
63537
*70543
1823
1824
1825
1826
9100
12947
16200
14258
la27
1823
1829
ISSO
15111
16444
1.5040
19683
Average
,)f 5 yrs.
8S62t
70277
Average
of 4 yrs.
13126
16568
* Average of thie? months only.
Tlic second peiiod of both Banks is chosen, as indicating
hiorc I'airly than the first the present state of the currency.
Calculating on the several data above specified, we obtain
the Ibllowing result : —
In the Military Chest, ... .; 112,500
In the Public Chest,« 83,000
In the Montreal Bank, 70,277
In the Quebec Bank, 10,568
100,000 families having ^10 each 250,000
JK532,235
In page 4 of the Report, Mr. Commissary General Routh
states, " that no coins are received into the Military Chest
" except dollars and half dollars and English money," hcnco
in taking the proportions as exhibited in Appendix A, we
must reject the contents of the Military Chest, which will
leave us £420,000 as a total, of which French crowns and
half crowns bear their proportion, as exhibited by the above
table.
The pistareens have been already unwisely dismissed the
Province, it remains therefore to estimate the cost of call-
ing in the French coin only, and re- issuing them at their
intrinsic value.
We have seen that French crowns form -r^^a of the
whole circulation of Canada, this will be found to give
£55,862, their actual depreciationis 2\ per cent, making the
amount of loss £1260.
Of half crowns the proportion is i^f o amounting to
£31,500,the percentage depreciate Oj-o per cent, and the loss
£2866.
Something remains to be added for expense of manage-
ment. I have no doubt but that the Banks would gladly
undertake it for A per cent. The trouble of exchanging
about £85,000 to £90,000 would be extremely trilling, for
which £450 would amply remunerate, or should su( h a
course be preferred or the Banks refuse the business, it
might be done by a Commissioner of k»f>wn integrity in
Quebec and Montreal, with proper checks in Iho shape ol
an obligation to account daily to an Auditor, and deposit his
balances in the Banks.
* The average is perhaps itithcr below this.
5^
To recapitulate : —
Loss on French crowns ^I2G0
Do. do. half crowns 2866
Expenses of management 450
The act of calling in the copper coin and re-issuing a
new Colonial coin, would be by no means an expense, it
would probably leave a profit.
8 tons of copper a d£88 f 704
Dies 30
Striking 60
Freight and Insurance 36
Commission and Management 100
Sterling ^930
Currency 1116
The above would issue as follows : —
201,600 pieces of one penny jE840
672,000 pieces of one-half penny 1400
^2240
I do not think there is more than £1000 of copper coin
in Lower Canada, worth perhaps, if sold, about £250 to
£300. The account will stand thus
First cost of the new copper coin ^1116
Old coin called in 1000
^2116
New issue £2240
Sale of old coin 250
2490
Net profit £274,
Every new issue would be attended with a profit of 100
per cent on the outlay.
As truth is the only object in this publication, it may be
well to point out to the reader the sources whence error
may have sprung in the above estimate.
Firsts The whole amount of coin in the country, exclu-
sive of the Military Chest, may have been under estimated.
Second, The proportion which the crowns and half
crowns bear to the whole circulation, may not be exactly
indicated by Appendix A, the habitans having a greater
proportion. It is within my knowledge, however, that the
habitans prefer dollars and half dollars to crowns, and half
crowns, repeatedly asking at the banks for Vargent Ang-
lais, as they designate all not French. It may be, that there
is scattered among them more than £250,000, but I am
most decidedly of opinion, that the ad(Hti()n will be in dol-
lars and half dollars, and so tend to diminish the propor-
tion of the debased coins.
Another consideration too on the favorahle side of ex-
pense, is that there are perhaps not more than 70,000 or
80,000 families of French extraction in Canada, and it is
. among them only, that hoarding to any extent exists. Judg-
ing from myself and the friends around me, I should say, the
English inhabitants of towns seldom keep more than one or
two dollars in specie in their possession. From all which it is
concluded, that if there be errors in my estimate, one will
correct another ; — that the French money in circulation and
hoarded, does not exceed £90,000 currency, and that the ex-
pense of calling it in,and of re-issuing the half crowns at their
intrinsic value, and of exporting the crowns as bullion, as
recommended page 46, on account of their inconvenient
value, would be considerably under £5000. The advan-
tages, however, of having a steady circulating medium, are
so inconceivably great, that even were the expense much
more formidable, I cannot conceive it would for a moment
be allowed to weigh with a Legislature having the welfare
of the country at heart ; and it is to be hoped, that the Re-
presentative of the Crown will, at the opening of the com-
ing Session, call the attention of the Commons once more to
the subject ; — that the Commons will institute a new en-
quiry into the facts ; — and thereon ground a Bill calculated
to effect the end desired. Let us hope also, that no paltry
jealousies of party will be allowed to stand in the way of
the final adjustment of this most important matter. That
the French and English Canadians can have interests really
opposed to each other, I doubt, nay I think it would not be
difficult to show that it is impossible. If, however, there
be any real or supposed difference of interests between men
livhig in the same country — warmed by the same sun and
chilled by the same blast — merely because their fathers
spoke a diflferent language, such difference of interest
clearly does not lie in the settlement of the Canadian Cur-
B^NCY Question.
Appendix.
A. Statement of the average amount of each denomination of coin in posses-
sion of the Montreal and Quebec Banks, in IS28 and 1S29 ; and in the Publis
Ciiest on the 1st of January, 1829*
B. 1, Price of standard silver in bars, in London, from 1823 to 1831, (omit-
ting 1829 and 1S30,) monthly.
2. Annual averaj^e value of the Spanish dollar, (deduced from B. 1.) Ave-
rage for the whole period, wiili corresponding par value of the currency.
C. Table of the annual average depreciation of the English currency during
the period of the Bank restriction.
D. Rlonthly exports of Cotton from the United States, from May 18S0 td
1st September i8i32, with current rate of exchange at New York annexed to
each month.
E. Exchange transactions of the Montreal Bank, 1821 to 1829, from the
Assembly Journals, 18S0, Appendix N.
1. Sales of their drafts on London.
2. Purchases of private exchange.
S. Purchases of Government exchange.
4. Monthly rate of exchange at Quebec, 1821 to 1883.
5. Abstract of Nos. 1,5, and S, showing tlie aggregate average premiums
on each class of transactions — for each year and for the whole
period.
6. Summary.
E. Table shovping
1. Par value of the currency from B, 1. 1
2. Actual rate of exchange from C. 4.
S. Real exchange, being the difference between 1 and 2. f"^ ^
4. Par value of £100 sterling in currency, from column 1. I o ^
5. "Value of JElOO sterling at the actual rate, from column 2. J jij ■"
"With averages and real exchange for the period.
G. Rate of exchange at New York, 1820 to 1832, weekly.
55
'-'^
S^
■^'??
■5 a
^=5
s?2
■§ "^ tf
"'5 1
> «» lu
5a;
o •
0
f-i r^
"o '-5 3
5 cj
u 5 u
a o 1^
1
1
b ^ u
«« JT^^
■o
o =
J? o • 2 -3 _.
00 cr (r> to »« i^
O ^^ j? w .~
1
1 0 (N TT - _• ^ rjJ
0
•^ v/, S. ** °
1
CIJ tts t^ «o Tj«
0
fc. SPS*^ u
to «
0
f" .= •- o
r-^l 1
to 0
» ST) C<lt^o;oias--r-c
1 -H
Total
wo Ba
and
Publii
( hest
G-1 o 1 (Tl o — :?> o >o 1^ s^ n
rj ,3,
m 1^ ^
i< 1 -^
to (35 -^ G^ X> U3
l.O
u; £>3 CJ 1— 1
4a
H
1
t> .
^
(H -^
Ji to CO to lO Oi — •
CO
i; o
lO P
T
O 1^ t^ 0 0 l~-
C^
3 3
3 .«
5! ^
=^55
^ 1?? 0 yi <?^ 1 r-. "o 1
1 ^
3 J3
^ I^ r-. TrS 0 1 M 1
1 CO
c^;^
-* .-
-1 lO -H
M
•-S
o =
^§-^^
era 10 1^ P3 (?^
2" 3 a
I
-
-1 10 5W 0 ■* -# I r-(
0
1
f^ „ (-, ^ ^1
0
<0 rl p-«
0
•So, 1
1-^
•>
^
OS c
■> (M <0-<t!.050 I^I?
^ -<
3=«|
I^ 'S.
3 'J* Tj<-tcjo'n Cii.
a (M
H5 f£, J£
3 CO 0 0 Oi G^ — 1
Oi
o o "-•
5 'i\ 10 to rl <S\ \
X)
H 5
»
\ SQ
^
o
ca
o .
O CO
CO -^
1 ^- 0 r~ v^ — r- t^
-f<
i: —
PS "■
J 00 W5 .0 tc ^ -1 (?^
(N
j3 .—
C rt
=^5:5
1 Tji to MICO •* 1
' CD <-l 1
-H
,
W5
OS
o-S
0 "J-
lO to ■* 05 00 M C
J r^
M c
*^ —
>o r~ CO (N CO ^ sr
J 05
•" G
2 o
T^ tn to — r^ r- 1 1
0
5 =i
?^ n
Tfl fr; u» ^ ^
os;
a> C
c
c<
M
fS,
:
-
: *«
a
o
U
1 :
C
o
c
a
V
■ CO
o
h
• K
jn *^
• Sj
_a,
c
'. 0
CA Ui
?; S £ rt :
o
«.
c 0 ■
3
"o
Q
13
0
u 1- ■- ■- w .E —
"a
(^
a
.3
'13
en
3
CO
56
-- ^ <o -i;
CO
1 OJ
a> .•
Ki-fl HM'^.l(np>i" .0
rW)
« _5
-> « (M — — <M 1 1 (N
eo
3 "o
^ '^ ^ '*T ''J' ^ ^^
^
00
«2
— o
i =
ro^-n
"-«--,
1> u
O 3 >>l
(ro^u;!Oh-COCr>0— 1
S'S
a. "5 ,"
C^ (?^ M CI C^l <M <M I'S SO
£ *■ -
CO ^J 0-j CO Jl' X> Jj M (S>
o
U-.101 <-laj t-loj .-Ix HM Ho)
^^
f-i-^C — —1— ip-OOOOC
3 !-<
^
en
rl f^ r-l .-1 -^ — 1
'-'
o
,
00
1— 1
r}lTiiw?T:fi'^TJ''<i<l'3>OUltOU> 1 -"a
•*
1 "^
1
OS
1
OO
d
i-(
ra
_a
00
1
"«
1
"3
^
o^
S?
(Tl
.P
CO
to
■2
1
"<j
CO
o
;5;
mIot mIcd ►*# ^Tf Mt^coi^ lOtainloo i~lo3 f-loj r(aD r-
^
*«•»
CO
OOOOO-^— 1— '— ' — — -
•4 *'™
OD
cn
(Tl
■^ rH
IM
o
CO
U5>OlOiOLOT}<TiiTJl.*^T*r;
h ^
o
<«<
-*
00
xtt Hi^ -ilisHe* Hl^nl-* .■oMml't -no N'* -Im ►-
0) «|,t
CO
ffO
1^
„_„„_^_^oooc
> —1
CO
<?1
CO
■^■*-*y<"*'*-*-«}(W5lOlOU
i-H
5 •*
■—1
'S"
1
00
He) Hic)-<1(N -H|c) Hic< MHi nhf
Ola.
<r^K
s
to
ooo— <'^— "'^— «o-<^-
H rH
o
G^
^ pH
CO
1^
cn
r-H
u5U5iO'J<'i<Ti<'^-*-<3<T#^.^
f -*
^
I-H
s
00
HclMCTMh* "W Hi-* -^ks "1*
MS
r^_
1^
^
l-O
OOOOrt-H—iO-HrH— (>-
O
"IS
00
s
<^
I-l ■— (
6^
•H
o
CO
lOK5*OU5lOr}l'<#lOiniOU5U-
lO
s.
tP
CO
^
o
HiSHS H'M ->H4nwi MIS '-•iS HS -<t
:< i-Ico
c
■^
„r-.-I^O-H«OOOOC
^-"
ff^
Si
<?^
f-H p^ r— * f-H l-H '"'
F^
o
^
CO
^■^^-*vn,j(^iou5io»ou"
^
>*
CO
00
HIS rt* nMi
^_
HS
8
CO
^H
H^
•-H
00
I-l
r— (
rH
<M
•*Ti(-}l,j(^,i(r#-*'Tjl <*•*■!}
Tj<
Hf
Ci
, 1
o
-•^J-^
(^J^
t*-
V .
O *
3 •
3 :
^ i
u *
^
^
c> .
^ :
K
a
ho •
bfi o"
o
o
c ;
= a
^
§
:>.
5
u <u
>> i-'
-5 •_• J3 X
<i:>
O oJ
2 3
>
<
-i>
•> 5
c
i
fit
bJO
o
s
i °
o
;i
S
3 =
<
c
c
1^
e
<
m
O.ii
u
i><
^S
Q
0 «
Vi
H a:
»
»=; •>-
^
t<
Ph
ft,""
<
« 8
^<
■»• "a
^^
_e Si
icu
^"^
•SEi
5i ? >j
to tJ o
■" a u
V u .
o .^ "S >.
^- o ci o o M M (n n o o
< O,
= y ;:
o ■-
^s-s.
W
:Mioo<ooi<SOOOOo
*= I— 1 I— 1 i-^ -H "-^
Oo5ocy>OOCOCDCOOOOOC/3CO
«4
a30(N<NINC^«WW«3
OOC^C^G^tWNC^C^S^f^
^.ooc^ooooooo«
4{OOC5C505C50l03Ci05CO
^00000000000
• l^iOTj-OOOOOOOO
3 ^
t>.
^
l\
'<
en
5
fH
tS
>-.
o
d
At
3
U
^
\^
it
~ i
p o
5: ??
13 u
H
58
C/3
«C, s^
"r^
S »5
5»
a a
Pi ^
ee eeeeeee
>. & .
1 S
^"2
S-2
CCt^OCOiOlOOO
I— 1 >-< -H
u-jM Q Q e e Q e « e
M|*».|<»MlcJrS* rim -to
(N (M — 1 1^ ■* (?> s-o o ««1
t^ .^ 1^ CVS ■*
(M tC U5 CO 1^-
G^'O "3 "5 to
O to -* 05 05
Ci >o c^ o to
"svaiM— <cDC»t^r^-H<D
m (M to G-i 03 00 00 to 1^ CO
.•^oisoor^t^toioojevji— ic<j
"■oosoioto^ioioror— QOSM-^
J!i-*<K)O'-'5OOt>300l-^O'«*<O
c8a5f^co(ncooo— lOOcocoOT
*^ ph i-i(n as OT •* "o to t^ (^
m
■* o o -* to
CO to -^ O 00
I I I I O CO to o to
I I I ^ CD W CO 00
r^ O O) (?^ CO
wi i^ r~ 00 00
3 '
§ 35 S 5 E'o.-* :»,« 5^3 iJ
O ;zi fi 1^ Pm IS < g ^^ "^ < W
59
APPENDIX E.
EXCHANC;E transactions OV THK MONTKliAL BANK.
Jfo. 7. — Amount of Exchange sold by the Montreal Bank in each year,
from 1821 to 1829 inclusive, with the Aggregate L'remiums received, and
the several rates.
1821. 1
1822.
1823.
4j
Amount. «
Aggregate
premiums.
Amount.
Aggregate'
premiums.!
Amount, m
Aggregate
premiums.
&.
£. s. d
£.
£.. s. d\
£.
£. s. d.
16650 a 6
999 0 0
5000 a
10
500 0 0
2000 a 4i
90 0 0
19450 a 6.i
1264 5 0
63611 a
11
6997 4 2
20383 a 5"
1019 3 0
4142 a 7"
289 19 9
1529 a
Hi
195 16 S!
4000 a 5,i
220 Q 0
50000 a 7f
3750 0 0
43968 a
12
5276 3 2
9833 a 6'
589 19 7
31132 a 8
2492 19 2
43621 a
121
5452 12 6 5000 a 6^
337 10 0
23019 a 8|
195S 12 4
30723 o
13'
3993 19 10 39193 a 7
2743 10 2
6000 a Sl
525 0 0
15855 a
13i
2140 8 6! 240UO a 7.f
1740 0 0
18456 a 9
1661 0 10
4500 a
14"
630 0 0 875S a 7,i
656 17 0
8000 a 9i
760 0 0
230 a
15
34 10 0 3949 a 8
315 18 5
13397 a 10
1339 14 0
1917 a 10
191 14 0
2335 a 11
262 7 0
204 a 12
2353 a 12.i
9o8 a 13'
24 19 7
294 2 6
125 16 10
192681
15300 18 1209037
25220 15 10
122558
8349 1 1
1824.
1825.
1825.
Amount, n
Aggregate
premiums.
Amount.
Aggregate
premiums.
<u
Amount. %
Aggregate
premiums.
1863a 8
148 12 10 32300 a
5
1615 0 oj 7500 a 7
525 0 0
26786 a 8$
2276 16 2 3000 a
5^
157 10 -0 3170 a 8
253 12 0
2000 o 8|
175 0 0 7000 a
6
480 0 0] 1050 a 9
94 10 0
54037 a 9
4867 16 7| 13578 a
7
950 9 2
15807 a 10
1580 14 0
64359 a 10
6433 18 0 4000 a
7,i
300 0 0
38 a lO.i
3 19 10
5505 a 12
6S0 12 o! 17000 a
7f
1317 10 0
23188 a 12.t
2398 10 0 14624 o
S^
1169 18 5
25000 a
7891 a
32573 a
35503 a
29326 a
7822 a
Si
8i
9
H
10
12.1
2062 10 0
670 4 8
2931 11 5
3373 1 5
2932 12 0
977 15 0
178293
17514 5 7230520
18933 2 1
27565
2457 15 10
1827.
1828.
1829.
Amount, 'rt
Aggregate
premiums
Amount.
rt
Aggregate
premiums.
at
'Amount. »
Aggregate
premiums.
103 a 8
8 12 10
7500 a
9
675 0 o' 5000 a 8
400 0 0
2947 a 8:1
250 9 11
7500 a
9|
693 15 0 6000 rt 9
510 0 0
6034 a 9
547 11 2
6325 a
lo;.
664 2 G 2850 a Vi
2660 12 6 4SOS3 a 9|
26.1 12 6
4911 a 9?
466 10 11
24750 o
;^^
4367 17 8
5300 a lu"
5.30 0 t
3000 a
330 (» 0 .9000 a 9i
877 10 0
1 1250 a UU
1181 5 (j
329 a
12
.39 9 7 11352 o 10
1135 4 U
10361 a 12^
1295 2 S
1860 a
13
241 16 0. 13733 a lO.J
1441 19 4
578 a 1 1
63 II 7
795 o 11,{
91 8 6
40961
4279 12 3
51'264
5304 15 1
97391
9381 3 7
Xole — The materials for Appendix R. Nn, 1 to j, are to b*" founH in a paper laid
before the House of Absenibly, and ordered lo be jiriutedy ITtli .Marcli, 18S0. See
Appendix lo the Juiknals of llial year, letter iN.
60
APPENDIX E.
EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS OF THE MONTREAL BANK,
No. 2. — Amount of Merchants' Exchange bought by the Montreal Bankf
with the Aggregate Premiums received and the several rates.
1821.
1822.
1823.
Amount.
15
Aggregate
premiums.
Amount. «
Aggregate
premiums.
Amount.
Aggregate
premiums.
£.
£. s. d.
*.
£. s. d
£.
M. s. d.
4370 a
3*
159 19 0
284 a 5
14 4 0
6106 a
4
244 4 10
23G3 a
5f
129 19 4
200 a 8
16 0 Qj 29165 0
0
1312 8 6
20380 a
6^
1222 16 0
8945 0 9
105 1 0
690 a
34 10 0
3940 a
6f
400 19 0
4000 a 9.i
380 0 0
7630 a
^i
420 15 0
24739 a
7
1731 14 7
23573 a 10
2357 6 0
352 a
6^
21 14 5
29990 a
n
2174 5 6
149.93 a Hi
1724 15 5
5291 fl
6f
330 13 9
4600 a
9l
437 0 0
12073 0 12
1448 15 2
2399 a
6f
161 18 8
5970 fl
6000 a
10000 a
2363 a
7
10
417 18 0
600 0 0
1175 0 0
283 11 «
94332
6249 13 5
64073
6046 1 7
75976
5022 14 4
1824.
1825.
1826.
Amount.
Aggregate
premiums.
aj
Amount, n
Aggregate
premiums.
Amount.
0
Aggregate
premiums.
763 a
6,4
49 18 5
18064 a 4.i
812 17 7
6640 a
7
464 16 0
9790 a
7
685 6 0
24838 a 5
1241 18 0
35157 a
74
2636 0 6
9507 a
7f
689 5 2
5460 0 61
354 18 0
2226 a
"^f
172 10 4
11716 a
7I
878 14 0
34625 a 7
2424 15 0
2330 a
8
186 8 0
11892 a
8"
951 7 2
29136 a 7i
2075 18 10
21480 a
8^
1825 16 0
326 a
H
26 17 6
12778 0 74
958 7 0
2380 a
H
273 12 0
7251 a
4
616 6 8
54098 a 8"
4327 16 10
8425 a
9^
753 5 0
535 a 8|
45 9 6
9342 a
Hf
1050 19 6
15735 a 11
1730 17 0
3907 a
III
449 6 1
12547 0 12
1505 12 10
10320 a
12'
1338 8 0
83144
7449 11 11
207816
15478 10 7
70703
5559 2 10
1827.
1828.
1829.
Amount.
<u
1
Aggregate
premiums.
<u
Amount. «
CS
Aggregate
premiums.
Amount.
Aggregate
premiums.
5963 fl
"^i
430 18 4
19094 a 9f
1766 3 11
5675 a
6;f
383 1 3
3911 a
74
293 6 6
5794 a 9*.
S.'.O 8 7
9714 rt
''i
692 2 5
1976 a
S"
158 0 0
4100 a 9J
3.Q9 15 0
11724 a
^
849 19 10
1100 o
8i
93 10 0
10252 a 10
1025 4 0
7185 fl
556 16 9
2200 a
8t*
,192 10 0
12064 a lOl
1236 11 2
1.3831 fl
H
1110 9 7
980 o
y'
88 4 0
2800 a
84
238 0 0
100 a
10
10 0 0
6600 «
8^
577 10 0
2381 a
4
2S2 2 11
16229
1266 8 10
51304
4978 2 8
59950
4640 2 9
fJl
APPENDIX E.
EXCHANGE TKANSACTIONS OF THE MdNTKEAL HANK.
yo. !i.--A7nount nf Treasury Bilh purchased bi/ the Monti eal Hank, from
lb'2\ to lb2;J inclusive, with the Aggregate Fre/niunis received and the
several rates.
1821.
1822.
18-23.
Amount.
V Apprefjate
^ premiums.
Amount.
S Aggregate
(2 premiums.
Amount.
2 Aeeregate
j3 premiums-
M.
13000 rt
57000 a
32000 a
£. s. d M.
6 900 0 0, 55000 a
71 4-275 0 Oj '2:3000 a
8' 2560 0 0 21000 a
*. s rf
10 5300 0 0
Hi 2530 0 0
12,i 2625 0 0
£.
18000 a
8000 a
11000 a
£. s. d.
5 500 0 0
6 480 0 0
7 770 0 0
104000
7735 0 0 98000
10655 0 0
29000
1750 0 0
18-24.
18-25.
1826.
Amount.
i Aggrepate Amount.
^ premiums.
*; Aggregate
j2 premiums.
AmouDt.
iJ Aerpregate
(3 premiums.
65412 a
49034 a
8 5-234 19 2| 1300 a
9 4413 1 2 25000 a
7^ 97 10 0
9' 2-250 0 0
13-200 a
■ 3900 a
28733 a
8 1056 0 0
91 370 10 0
10 2873 6 0
114446
9648 0 4j 26300
2347 10 0
45833
4-299 16 0
1827.
1823.
1829.
AmouDt.
-2 Acjjrepate
(3 premiums.
Amount.
i Aggregate
^ premiums
Amount.
^ Agcregate
^ premiums.
34500 a
900 a
11600 a
4300 a
8 2760 0 0
8| 76 10 0
9 1044 0 0
10 430 0 0
5000 a
27061 a
10 500 0 0
lOJ 2909 1 2
157500 a
8 12590 0 0
51800
4310 10 0
3-2061
3409 1 2
157500
12590 0 0
63
APPENDIX E.
EXCHANGE TIUNSACTIONS OF THE MONTREAL lUNK.
No. 4. — Abstract of the three foregoing tables, showing —
First. ~'Vhe amount of Exchange sold by the Montreal Bank in each year, 1821 to
1829.
Second. — The amount of Government Hills purchased during same period.
Third. —The amount of Merchants' liills do. do.
Fourth. — Total of the above transactions each year.
With aggregate average Premiums on each class of transactions and on total.
1821
1822
1823
Description of
transactions.
Annu-
al
Amt.
Aggregate
premium.
Exchange sold... 192681 15300 18 0
Governt. bought 104M00 7735 0 0
Private ditto. ... 94382 6249 13
Exchange sold . . .'209037|25220 1 6 0
Governt. bought 9800U 10655 0 0
Private do 64073 6046 1
Rate.
Total transactions of the
^y ea r.
7 18 9
7 8 9
6 12 5
Amt.
Prems.
29106329485 11 5
Exchange sold ...132558
Governt. bought! 29000
Private do 75976
1824 Exchange sold . . .178293
Governt. bought|ll4446
Private do 83244
1S25
1825
1827
Exchange sold... '230620
Governt. bought | 26300
Private do 207816
Exchange sold ...
Governt. bought
Private do
Exchange sold ...
Governt. bought
Private do
1828 Exchange sold
Governt. bought
Private do. ...
1829
Exchange sold ..
Governt. bought
Private do
27565
45833
70703
12 1 9
10 17 5
9 8 8.137111041921 17 7
237534
Rate.
7 9 9
11 5 10
15121 15 4 6 7 3
37598834656 IS 3 9 4 4
464736,36764 2 7
7 18 3
144101 12316 14 10 8 H 0
40961 4279 12
51.300 4310 10
16229 1266 8 10
51264
32061
51303
97391
157500
59960
108490 9856 10 10
134628
314851
9 18
14191 19 1010 10 10
26611 6 9, 8 9 O
No. 5. — Suinmarij,
Total Exchange sold, 1821 to 1829 inclusive
Ditto Government Exchange purchased, ^
same period \
Ditto Private Exchange purchased, same/^
period r
1150375
688539
703587
106746 11 0
57444 0 5
56735 9 0
9 5 7
8 6 lOJ
8 13
2542501
220926 17 5
8 13 9
03
Q
w
a*
Of
^S.
■Si
bl3_ C»
= S „
H^ r'-li M^
-♦N
t- — = s
1^ o o a> o "3
31,
O •- -^ c^
alue
0 stc
lie ac
rate.
colui
M 1^ CO M •*> 'O
f3
cc — O! o — CI
O
— (N — 1 T) 51 «M
<;<
f»^
>.
^•1 5 =
Hl.^ HJ C>lhf r^.*
H-l
1^ o CT ^ oi o
«.^
o *— l! ?
4.
Par
value
£100 ste
in
alifax cu
rem colu
to o o CO «j< o
— ' O 00 o o o
>.-5
O
IM (n — CI CI m
c«
f— 1 r^^ PI »— f^ r-1
»— *
53 fH
TjtCO -<?' o
C^^ to
00
_
E
3
1
•^
1 'J' C5 1 ^. o
?< o
F^
■•a 1
e
1 _,!_,_
1
(i)
r^ O OG^
>J3 srs
CI
o '
B
OS
^
-^
w
3
5
"3
-a .
V
■g
cc o
"Q
CO
o
c
lo 1 1 •* I 1
o
u
II II
p^
Q
M O
M
f* QO
M ■* CO «5 00 O
M-*
2.
Actual 1
- of
Exchan
from
C. 4.
1^ Tj" CO -^ -H O
w o> r* CO 050
CI -o
CD 00
to
o ^
^
c
"
b
«
V "*
- S t* U OJ
H^»
to I-
5 >, .* ^ :s
— O t^ Tji T}i O
T}<
° o 3 *-■ =>
_; 51 o w oj o
fti u 2 „ «;«
W O CO CO •* o
lO
W-2
•i"^lS
Ol CO to 00 CO CD
CD
t: ci
rt •:;
? <j o, &,
&>
d en
rt o
V
bi>
c3
L^
bl
M -* ■'J to f^ Cl
>•
03
(N S^ ff^ CI "M (M
u
00 ^- CO Cf> 00 00
JH
(14
APPENDIX O.
Tdhtt' of the Rale of Exchange at Netv York on Loudon, 1S21 to 1833.
1 1
13-21 1822,1823
182^
182 J
1286
132-
1828
I 10,
1829 1830
8J 9i
!l831
1 ^'^
1832
93
1833
.January..
'H
7
I 9
t ^
11
f
J H
S
10
8i
11
. 10.
8
n
6i
■'fl 1
If
) S.I
7
f 10|
^ 8|
11
10.
7.i
9
6^
9i
2=1
H
7j
\ i^i
8rF
11
lo;
7^
8i
6|
93
Februaiy J
H
"it
r 9
^i
10^
10^
M
8|
' 6.i
10'
}■
H
8
8|
sf
10
lOJ
8i
8|
i H
10?
16
H
8
8i
8i
10
lOg
8i
bJ
6.i
m
21
5j!
8.^
9
8f
10|
m
B..!
8,f
1 6
n
March ... 1
.5
8.J
9
8|
m
Hi
8-1
8^
: H
9J
fa
i)
8i
^■^
8|
10
lOj
81
■ 8^
\ Gi
A
16
H
9
H
8i
10.5
10|
8.i
8
c?
9|
24
6i
9
H
71
10|
' lOi
8i
8
7'
9*
April 1
H
s?
H
7|
10.
lOf
8
8
7|
P|
8
H
9
9>i
8i
lOi
lOg
H
8
7|
9|
16
"'h
9
Sf
9.1
10
Hi
8|
7*
81
lOi
24
^
8J
Si
9J
10
10|
9j
7f
H
lol
Mav 1
''i
8|
8|
9J
10
lO.j
91
7
91
IO3
8
7^
9
7
9|
l"i
lO.i
9i
7
9i
9.1
16
7|
H
9i
6|
9
lof
1C|
H
7
8|
H
24
H
H
n
6
8i
iH
lOi
H
7
71
91
Juae 1
10
6s
10
5
9f
H|
10|
9i
7|
7S
H
8
10
7
10
.T
9J
10|
10 J
8i
7
9
9i
16
9
6|
9
5|
101
lol
10
8*
6i
91
H
21
9
6|
8.1
51
91
10
lOf
f|
6|
9|
lOi
July 1
9
6
9
5|
9t
10
10|
Si
6|
9i
9|
S
9
6i
9
51
101
9i
10|
9
6
io.f
H
16
^
6f
8i
5
J 01
9;|
10
y^
5J
9J
8
24
8|
6.1
H
4i
10^
9l
9,1
91
6
9J
August... J
8f
6.f
8.4
4i
m
n
H
9i
6|
10
8
8i
6|
l^
Si
iOi
95
9|
'J
61
10|
16
9
7
h
5,i
'OJ
lOi
10
^■i
6i
10|
24
9
7
8|
6j
Hi
10|
10
9a
6i
lOi
September 1
9
6.1
%
7S
12^
11
10.1
n^
61
lOJ
8
9
6,-;
4
71
12,|
11
lOj
•''I
6
loi
16
85
61
9|
9i
12|
lu
lOj
9|
6
10;J
24
8|
7
9|
10^
12f
llf
10|
9£
6
lOi
October... 1
H
7f
lOd
lOt
12
11
lOf
9a
6i
10|
8
9
8
lli
H
12
111
10|
^i
6f
11
16
9
8
10|
9|
Hi
lll
10|
H
7
11
24
9i
8
10
9|
i4
iH
lOi
4
7i
10|
Kovember 1
9f
n
91
H
llj
11
lot
9|
7
10
8
4
7
9,1
H
n|
ii|
101
9|
7
9|
16
10
7
n
H
"f
11*
lOf
^J
65
H
24
10
7
9.f
9
111
iif
10
n*
&l
H
December 1
11
7|
H
8f
iif
Hi
n
9^
6|
n
8
12t
8
H
8j
ii-l
Hi
n
9t
61
n
16
12i
8
9k
8|
"i
111
n
9|
6|
H
24
111
8
H
.8$
lU
ii|
n
n
6.1
H
Averages —
9^^
8
loA
101
10|<
h\
7|
BJ-3.
1 fi
-TV^;
A\K^.
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11